Unfaithful
by IceyKrystal
Summary: Sequel to Reversal..the stuff that happens after T2T between a grieving Farah and Prince caught between two kingdoms..
1. Preface

_A/N: This is the sequel to Reversal. If you haven't read the edited version of Reversal then here's the proper title of Farah in this story, Maharajkumari Farah, I'll be posting a definition list later. This story was hard for me to start because I really didn't know how to start it off but I knew where I wanted to go. So I did a lot of research on Ancient Persia and India, quite fascinating like did anyone know that modern standard Hindi is heavily influenced by the Persian language?..And a lot of people did bad things to the people of India even before the British :( I posted another chapter with this one. Please Review. Enjoy :)_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Persia.**

Preface

_My Dear Warrior,_

_I left my body the day I was struck down by the Dagger of Time as it pierced my intestines, and left my body in a pool of my own blood. Its hard for me describe what I actually felt at that moment, the pain was at first very excruciating. Then when I realized and accepted death, the pain stopped and I felt at peace with myself. I saw your eyes, but you weren't crying in my eyes, you were as I had always remembered you. That sparkle in you when I realized how divine you look in the moonlight. Those big brown eyes staring back at me when I first looked you, the look you gave to me that told me you were curious and daring. The moment when I was in your lap, I wasn't dying; I was thriving like you said I would. I didn't even think about dying as I only remembered the good times in my life and envisioned the life I will never be able to live. Sadly, only when dying did I finally reach peace and tranquility that I had sought after for such a long time. I began to see the world in a totally new light, and so when I lay in your warm lap dying, I didn't just see your pretty face, I saw my life pass me by. _

_I died at the tender age of 25, and do I look back in regret? No. I had lived a vibrant life, and in total I have seen four wars that I took active part in. However, as I was raised to be a soldier, I never think of fighting wars as the highlights of my life. I consider feeling loved as the highlights of my life. I felt my mother's love, I remember when I was young and I would get into fights with bigger people, my mother would always tend my wounds. She would ask, "Why do you always have to be so aggressive? You could have just walked away." Her lectures were not in anger but of a worried mother trying to raise her oldest son. I wondered when I lay dying of how she would react to my death? I realized that I wish I could tell her to stop worrying about her brash son, that she would always warm my spirit. I wanted to thank her for everything she had done for me. And tell her that there was no need for her to worry anymore because now I will be joining father in the afterlife. But, I never got to tell her any of this; hopefully my brother wouldn't be as much of a handful as I was._

_I've felt the love of my siblings, my younger brother and sister. I remember teaching my brother how to hold a weapon properly and teaching him how to fight. His first weapon that he chose were twin scimitars, I was there smiling with a fatherly pride. I wish I could have told him that I'm very proud of him and I know he will take over my spot as I had for father. Also, my dear little sister, she might think her red veil didn't help me but it did. Whenever I was discouraged, I'd look at it and remember this goofy little girl that had completed my life. I would remember my sister then fight because I had to protect her and now my brother will have to protect her._

_Even here in Babylon, I've felt a sort of friendship love. Kaileena, though my time with her was short, it was not long after me that she soon joined me. Though, I had left the physical world, I still had a presence in this world because I wasn't going to leave without having a final say with the Vizier. I gave power to Kaileena for her to finish off the Vizier, and to keep him from becoming immortal. I didn't want Kaileena to kill herself, since I sacrificed myself for her. But, I knew after she did, that she was never meant to be in the mortal world just like me. I will always keep my promises, even the one for you. You think I'd leave you? No, I'd never leave you. Remember? I promised that I would never leave you._

_Let me expand this a bit further, the best thing in this world that I have ever felt, is your love. My comrades in the army would often talk of a woman's love being far superior to a woman's touch. Being young and naive I didn't really understand what my comrades meant by that. Wasn't a woman's touch a better sensation than something that is hardly tangible such as love, but I finally understand what they meant. The moment I saw you I knew that I would always love you. From your bratty attitude to your ultra sensitive moods, I've loved you in every perspective possible. It's been almost a year since I knew you but it seems that I've been in love with you all my life. So, when you cried saying why was I leaving you, and how to be strong. I don't think you realize how strong you truly are. Think about it, you don't need me to be your hero; in fact you are my hero in so many ways. You are a Maharajkumari, yet you came to this war as a prisoner and you could have left with me at the beginning. But, you stayed and fought, it was that fiery spark inside of you that made me fall madly in love with you. A warrior that is what you are. You will be strong and I trust that you will make the right decisions. I want you to remember our joyous times together, not the sad times. Leaving you...that's the last thing that will happen, I am here. What? You don't think the Prince is part of me? He is, because he and I both are in love with you. If he loves you then that is enough for me to know that he will be by you, and isn't that the equivalent to me being with you? There was so much I wanted to say before I died, but I have no regrets. I leave this world with an open clear mind and I wish to have no strings attached here. But, remember I will always be here for you, even if I may not appear there, I am._

_Be Strong,_

_Arjun_


	2. Epiphany

A/N: This story may seem slow at the beginning but I'm trying to set the mood the characters have at the moment. So bare with me :) Enjoy and Review please!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Persia

Chapter 1: Epiphany

He saw the sun rise from the horizon, and breathed in the fresh cool air as it caressed his bare chest. Today marks exactly four weeks from that fateful day. The scenery is still engraved in his mind like it had only been yesterday when the Vizier was finally stopped. He brushed his hands through his thick full hair, and wondered as he looked out of the window gazing at the scenery of burnt buildings with bustling people. From that day, he remembered talking to the Old Man and organizing speeches to uplift the members of his great kingdom. Over the past month, he has been endlessly trying to figure out how to help his distressed population. The first thing he did was to give medical attention to all citizens that were injured or sick. During the course of this many of the families were reunited with one another, and had returned to their homes. Then, came the cleansing of the city, every dead body that lay in the streets were identified and returned. Because, of the massive amount of people dead, the Prince had made a public announcement to uphold a big unilateral ceremony for the dead. Now, is that day to hold the ceremony for the dead, and for his father.

With his scratchy throat, and groggy blue eyes staring out at the expanse of his territory he let out a long awaited yawn. Pulling his eyes away from the view, he saw his empty bed. Sheets of the finest silk lay in a messy pile on the bed along with his plush pillows, and an oil lamp stood wobbly on the side so he could read at night. With a sigh, the Prince descended to his washroom and slid open the silk screen that separated the washroom from his bedroom. He looked at the mirror, and saw his face with disgust. His hair is too bushy and untamed as it looked like a wild mess going in every direction. And when was the last he shaved his beard? Stubble would have been better than what he saw on his face now. His beard had grown to completely covering his chin and cheeks, with a disgusted feeling he just shook his face. Lately, he didn't have time to tame his looks, but today he had to, because in this ceremony he has to be clean. After washing his face with water and ointment, he picked up a blade beginning to meekly shave off the excess facial hair.

..

The kitchen though damaged, is still in very good condition and bustled in the early morning in preparation for the huge ceremony. Thousands of people who did not have homes anymore, and are starving would be there to give their last wishes to the dead. Farah, with a handful of maids worked furiously throughout the morning preparing dishes for everyone. The dishes are going to be light, but it still takes a while to completely make food for thousands of people. The maids were not workers only volunteers from the community, but Farah often told the volunteers to leave after a while. From the depth of her heart, Farah felt bad if she received any help from the citizens. They were confused, homeless, starving, and hurt, she didn't want to burden them anymore so she did most of the work by herself. She didn't sleep the whole night, instead she worked on preparation, and her fingers that were once nimble and delicate, are now brittle with scabs.

"Did the Prince wake up yet?" A woman from behind Farah asked, at first she spooked Farah, then she settled and stopped cooking to give the woman attention.

"I'm not sure." She shrugged, then returned back to cooking and the maid bit her bottom lip with thought.

"He needs to hurry up, and eat before the ceremony starts." She said, but Farah didn't stop cooking.

"Well, go take it up to his room." She said casually, and the maid eyes grew wide in shock.

"What? What if he's changing!" The maid's cheeks are now a rosy red.

"Its just body parts." Farah said as she still refused to look at the maid, then a long silence passed. Farah let a long sigh go as she took off her coat and turned to the blushing maid. "Fine!" She said as she grabbed the plate and took off towards the Prince's bedchambers.

"Thank you." The maid said gleefully behind her.

...

The Prince tentatively inched the blade closer to the last patch of facial hair to remove for him to achieve a goatee. As he cut the last bits off, he felt an ecstasy of jubilation. It had taken him forever to trim down this beard, and he finally did it! He splashed some cold water on his face to smooth it out. Then he grinned when he saw his reflection in the mirror, as the confidence returned to his body as he looked at his face. He felt like that Prince back in Azad, and the remembrance of youth returned to his blood.

"Prince!" He heard Farah from his bedchamber and quickly drew back the curtain.

"Farah?" He asked, still covering his body with the curtain, and noticed Farah with a plate of food.

"Did you just get up?"

"Yes, well sort of." He trailed off as he thought about how much he actually spent shaving his beard. Then he stopped wondering and stepped out of the curtain to stand in front of Farah.

"Well, hurry up and eat." She said as she quickly put the plate down and dashed for the door.

"Wait!" He called and she stopped with her hand on the door.

"What is it?" She asked when she faced him, and he gave her a grin.

"What do you think?" He asked mischievously as he stroked his chin indicating to his beard, and Farah gave a small smile.

"It looks nice." She complimented, and the Prince felt disappointed, just nice that's it?

"Doesn't it remind you of..." He stopped as he remembered that Farah wouldn't remember even though he already told her about Azad and Farah gave him a perplexed expression.

"What?"

"Never mind." He said as he walked to the plate of food, and noticed her hands for the first time. They looked bony, and broken with cuts all over; a look of concern crossed his face. As Farah turned to leave again, the Prince caught her arm, and he became surprised of how skinny her arm became.

"Prince, I don't have all day-"

"Did you eat anything?" He asked, and she tried to move her arm but he didn't let her. Then she sighed and looked at him. The Prince felt a ticklish sensation run up his rib cage when he looked in Farah's eyes. He saw the bags under her beautiful brown eyes, and her wrinkled lips. Then he saw the pretty white Persian dress she wore and he had to admit to himself that the dress fitted her every curve. Even though she isn't having the best day, the Prince still thought she looked beautiful.

"It doesn't matter-"

"Shh." He whispered to her, as he gently pulled her close to him and she tried to wiggle away but he wrapped his arms around her. Then his fingers slowly touched the sides of her covered abdomen as it slid up ending with his hands pressed on her stomach. His fingers inched closer to her perfect breast, as his eyes are connected to hers. But, she instinctively broke their hug by pushing him away so he wouldn't go any further.

"I can't." She said while looking down, and the Prince stared at her in disbelief.

"Please Farah..." He said as she looked up at him with a sympathetic look on her face. He really wanted to be with her and to be an actual couple. "I feel-"

"Oh, look at your hair." She said to change the subject and she quickly began to fiddle his hair in a desperate attempt to end their conversation. "Let me get a comb." Before she could do anything else, the Prince grabbed her wrist and refused to let go.

"You know how I feel about you?" He truly asked wondering if Farah somehow forgot what he told her about Azad and everything. But, she looked at him without emotion straight in his eyes.

"I'll comb your hair while you can eat." She simply said and then out of frustration the Prince gripped her wrist tighter making her grimace in pain.

"You are not my maid!" He screamed at her confused expression.

"What's the difference!" She yelled back, and he jerked her arm towards his chest so she would be closer to him.

"I want to make you my wife one -"

"Just stop it! Please stop talking about us. I beg you just leave it be." She cried as the tears welled in her beautiful eyes and the Prince's grip loosened. "Don't you see? This thought of us being together is destroying our love." She whispered to him and the Prince looked down in solemn.

"Will you ever love me the way I love you?"

"I need time for us to grow together." She said as she lifted his head to greet hers, then she tossed his hair around playfully. "Now, I'm getting a comb while you can eat." She winked as she left to get a comb.

As she combed his hair the Prince wondered about many things while she damped his hair first and massaging in ointments into the hair. Over the past two weeks as he has been working hard doing diplomatic duties, Farah has in a sense been doing more hard labor duties. She's of royal blood and held her head up high with dignity. However, her royalty didn't restrict her from tending the wounded, or helping the homeless find homes. In fact, it's possible that the citizens of Babylon liked her more than himself. What made the Prince worry about Farah is that perhaps she's over working. He knew Farah isn't having enough sleep, and refusing to eat. He wondered what triggered her to act this way for the past two weeks.

Hands intertwined in damp hair as she fished around to find tangled long strands to comb. His hair is brown but when damp it turned into an almost dark brown color. The hair became extremely curly when damp, but Farah massaged in ointment to straighten it a bit. Tentatively, she pulled the strand up and stroked the comb through it to get rid of the knots. She did this methodically as if its second nature to her. However, thoughts clouded her mind as she combed through the Prince's hair. Thoughts that seem to haunt her every waking moment. She knew she loved the Prince but not romantically or maybe she did? Does she love him? Or can she ever love the Prince? A feeling of a knot cramped up in her mind as she questioned herself. She sighed; she hasn't slept in a while. At night she would either think of the Prince or Arjun then cry herself to sleep if she could. It's been four weeks since Arjun has died and it still feels like he is still alive. She wanted to desperately know why she couldn't just let Arjun go. The love she has for Arjun is still alive while he's not. She wondered of how could she love the Prince if she loved another. While the tale of Azad is intriguing, it served nothing for Farah except to explain the Prince's undying love for her. The feelings that developed for the Prince during their time together are drowned out by the memories of Arjun. From those memories it drove her to be distant with the Prince and ignore any form of advancements.


	3. Unresolved

_A/N: Majority of the point of views is going to be Farah's, simply because I am girl...and the Prince isn't :D But, I will incorporate the Prince's point of views but not as well as Farah's. Anyway so in this chapter I was trying to get how people did funerals in Zoroastrianism (Ancient Persian religion) but I couldn't really find anything on it since there really isn't that many Zoroastrianism followers anymore. Other than the use of white clothing and priests everything else is sort of made up about the funeral so its not accurate. I also changed the timeline a little; it's been a month since the ending of T2T. So I hope everyone enjoys this chapter :) Review please!_

_A/N: Definitions: Arsalan = Persian for lion._

**I don't own Prince of Persia **

Chapter 2: Unresolved

Moving like gusts of wind the young Babylonian boy ran from side to side in the ruined deserted streets of Babylon. Every time he breathed in he smelled the scent in the air of a mixture of ashes, flowers, and spices, almost resembling how the city currently is. In a sense Babylon is a diamond that was covered with volcanic ash from the terror of the Vizier. Then from nowhere the Prince of Persia came and rescued his beloved people from certain dark death bringing together with a spring of hope. Babylon is like a flower slowly blossoming from the ashes and rising to become the diamond it once was. The foreign spices ran through the air like streams from the mountains afar, and brought a scent welcomed by the people of Babylon. For a year the people in this city were deprived of basic food, and starved by the tyrant Vizier.

However, the child didn't think about the past, with his feet lightly padding on the hard ground making a slapping sound echo. The child knew that he isn't supposed to go this way, but he didn't want to go to the place where he is supposed to be. In fact, he wanted to forget about that place, the meaning, and the purpose of it. So, he ran to the one person he knew would understand and help him cope with his confusion. This person has helped reunite him with the remainder of his family, finding a new home, and even came to their home a couple of times to cook food for them. She even brought new clothes for the family, but most of all she came into the family. The child isn't sure if she paid special attention to other families as much as she did with his, but he's grateful that she actually did pay attention to them. He cut around a corner passing a burnt building that is slowly being reconstructed, and he quickened his pace knowing that he is getting close to his destination. He knew where this person is; often she would go here for some reason for apparently alone time. Finally, he came in front of an entrance to a garden that is virtually untouched by the horrors of the Vizier. In fact, as the boy walked into the garden a whole new mood came over him. The depressing feeling in Babylon is lost here; the lush feeling vibrant sprang in this garden. The garden is filled with unique array of flowers in all kinds of colors decorating the trees that produced juicy fruits and sometimes she would bring fruits from this garden. The air is quite different than the one from Babylon streets; it's more of an exotic feel in the garden. The chilling air settled on his cheeks to bring a relief from the unending heat in Babylon. He followed the sound of thuds hitting a tree, and he barely made a sound as he walked. The soft grass under his feet is moist and gave a cool relief to his sore feet. Deep inside the garden the boy heard the thud sounds louder and knew she is close, and as he emerged from the barrage of trees he saw her. She stood straight with her fingers adjusting the arrow to aim at the tree when she released the arrow, it amazed the boy of how much power she can generate from her thin flimsy arms. Her hair is long as it touched her hips and combed to perfection almost like she combed it obsessively. Although, her appearance is very feminine, with a curvy thin body she is a ferocious woman. He can tell by the intensity in her eyes as her eyebrows furrowed over when she focused on the tree. He remembered at the beginning when he was first discovered everyone shrugged off him as a lone orphan, however she made her voice be heard making sure he had a family to take care of him. As he stood and observed her wondering if she will be mad if he interrupted her alone time.

"Arsalan." She softly said as she lowered her bow and turned to look at him allowing the intensity in her eyes to leave. He became shocked that she noticed him, and nervously shuffled his feet around looking for an excuse to come here.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you." He explained as he lowered his eyes, but she gave him a sweet tiny smile.

"It's fine, aren't you supposed to be at the public prayer with your sisters?" She asked as she put the bow down and picked a fresh orange from the tree then sat on the soft grass signaling for him to sit with her.

"I don't want to be there." He answered honestly as he sat across from her and she raised her eyebrow.

"Why not?" She asked as she began to peel the orange.

"I don't know, why should I go?" He said from his confusion on the current situation, why should he go?

"Well, it's a way to say farewell to your parents, and to everyone else that died." She answered as she finished peeling and handed the fruit to Arsalan after she rinsed it off.

"Why would I want to say farewell? My parents have been dead for a long time, and I don't want to start thinking about it again" He asked curiously then chewed the juicy orange.

"To bring closure, trust me after you do it, things will get better." She told him, almost generically but she knew to some degree it was the truth.

"Did your parents die?" He asked now seeming very interested as he bit into the orange with wide curious brown eyes. Farah wondered why this child is so attached to her, it flattered her to think that some people view her to be somewhat of a hero to them but she in her heart never felt like one. She never did anything extradinary for the child, she just did what she thought is humane and for some reason the boy thought of her as holy. As she looked in the little boy's big eyes, she couldn't help but hold back some form of distain in her heart. She honestly felt bad that she couldn't return the feeling of caring for the child, and every time she had to fake it. However, the shaggy black haired boy that barely passed a decade of years has no idea of how she actually felt at this moment and Farah intended it to stay that way.

"Yes, my parents did die." She sighed as she tried to shake her unwanted feelings and urges.

"Did you say farewell to them?" He asked as he finished eating, and Farah pulled out a small towel to wipe away the juice smeared on his face.

"My mother yes I did, but not my father." She whispered and her eyes became soft as she remembered her father and tragic way he was snatched away from her.

"Why didn't you say farewell to your father?"

"I never got the chance."

"Why not right now?"

"This place is not the place to say farewell." She trailed off as the memories flooded into her mind. That tale the Prince told her, it was the story of her kingdom's destruction. The Prince's army destroyed her home, killed her father, looted her family's treasure, and took her as a slave. Did he really think she would forget all of that because he loved her? If he didn't tell any of this to her, maybe she wouldn't be so distant with him. But, now she feels somewhat hollow, why was her kingdom still destroyed even when the timeline changed? The Prince did all of this to her ending up with a kingdom, yet she is the victim and everything she was entitled to is snatched away by time itself.

"Why?" Now, this Persian child is asking budding questions, these questions she really didn't want to think about. Why is he bothering her so much? All she asked for at this time is to have alone time with archery yet she cannot have anything to herself without a Persian ruining it. She wondered what would happen if this certain Persian boy were to disappear would anyone care? Her eyes trailed off to the bow on the ground as she thought. Then she realized what she is thinking and shook away the thoughts. Why is she so negative now? How could she even think of hurting a child? "Farah?" The words became stuck in her throat, as she couldn't think of anything good to say. She opened her mouth struggling to come up with something but the thoughts of hurting this child are becoming too big. Her head swayed as a headache sprung from her mind, and trying to suppress the negative feelings. The child still looked at her with curiosity, and Farah wanted to scream a warning to him. Instead, she stood up and quickly ran away from the scenery. Leaving behind her bow and a confused child calling out her name.

...

Farah ran till she became out of breath, her legs felt sore from running, and she didn't see anyone around her. When she finally stopped to catch her breath and smell the fresh air, she instinctively looked behind herself. She's sure that the boy is far from her, and she wiped the sweat from her brow. She wanted to scream out all of her confusion, but why is she being tortured? Never before did she feel so unhappy in her life. She just felt incomplete and used that it seemed so wrong to her, but why did she feel this way. Drop of tears from her eyes trailed along her cheeks. What is this? It's like a twisting pain creating knots in her stomach whenever she looked at Babylon. Is it anger? Hate? She needed answers but she didn't how to find them or how to even begin to answer them. What exactly is she feeling? Usually, she would have forgave the Prince for his actions, technically its not even his fault but why did the mere thought of them being together brought bile up her throat. It didn't seem right to her, ever since he proposed to her, she never felt close to him again. Arjun just died, and he understood telling her that he will wait till she is done mourning. But, what if she is never going to stop mourning over him, and what if she doesn't want to marry the Prince after all? The tears came more furiously as she thought about her present situation. She wondered if she could just go home, and maybe her head will be clearer to give him an answer. Grabbing her white Persian garb so intensely that her knuckles turned white and she pulled at it downwards making her fall to her weak knees. The dusty sand on the ground stained her white dress but she didn't care as her hands grasped tightly around her head. The headache grew worse as she gripped it to try to suppress the intense feeling but it didn't fade. She just wanted it all to end, so she could be happy again. Then she heard the distinct of splashing water in the distance, and the reciting of strange Persian ritualistic words. She loosened her grip and turned her head to the direction of the sounds. It's the farewell ritual for the Babylonian people, and Farah closed her eyes to breathe in the air. The mixture of smells that gave Babylon its unique identity is present however there is another scent in the air. The ritualistic incarnations to the burning of certain incense filled the air with a sort of relief. The smell of incense is supposed to bring peace to one's spirit, however it did nothing for Farah, the burning sensation inside of her body remained. She opened her eyes and gazed in the direction wondering whether she should go the public prayer. But, she had declined the offer to attend it because simply she did not want to remember Arjun again. Perhaps she can endure the pain and go attend it just to talk to the Prince. She desperately needed to find a way to become happy once again, and she needed to talk to the Prince.

...

The white suit fitted loosely on his body and swayed side to side whenever the wind blew. Gusts of wind often blew sand and dirt at his eyes, but he simply squinted his eyes focusing in the task at hand. The Prince, and thousands of Babylonians lined themselves along the beach. Everyone wore white clothing, as it is mandatory to wear white in funerals, and stand next to the dead siblings. All the priests from the city sat along the beach also and preached the prayers for the dead to be purified. The people who stood next to their dead siblings either cried or looked forward in silent mourn. The Prince did not let a single emotion seep through his defenses however whenever he looked at his father wrapped head to toe in a white cloth laying on top of a small raft he couldn't help but show a slight sign of sadness. Inside, the Prince's mind traveled back in time to a place that he remembered in his youth. He remembered when he had no responsibilities and his older brother would be there to rescue him from every stupid mistake he made. His loving mother telling him tales of Persian heroes rescuing faraway exotic damsels, and his mother always emphasized on education. Education is key to be a great leader, and knowledge of every culture is mandatory in order to become a beloved King. Malik even though he is dead, was a great leader of foreign land because he learned about the culture and the people in his kingdom loved him as if he was their own. Then there was his father, the one that influenced every inch of courage within him and molded him into the person he is now. The ticklish feeling crept his throat as he thought about his family and how everyone has been snatched from him. It isn't fair that he must live without the ones he loves, and he wanted to beg his father to come back because he isn't sure if he can lead his people. How can he lead people if he is so inexperienced? He remembered his father telling him that he had royalty running through his blood and so he will always be a leader. What did that mean? How would being a royal mean that he can lead people on his own?

"Prince Sharaman." The weak voice of the priest shook the Prince from his contemplations and he focused on the priest.

"Yes?" He asked and the priest motioned to his father's body.

"Its time, your majesty." He said and the Prince nodded his head then began to push the raft into the unending waves of the ocean. It was easy for him to push the raft into the water but when the water reached his waist it became hard for him to let go. Its time to let go of the raft but somehow he didn't want to let go of it. He looked down at his father's body, to the place where his head is but its covered with a cloth. It pulled at his heartstrings, the emotions came to his face in a rush and he tried to hold it back by cringing his eyes. But, he couldn't hold back his tears anymore and a tear fell from his cheek landing on his father's face. It felt like a release as he let the pain go but at the same time it hurts him so much. He didn't realize how much he would miss his family at this moment. The swish of water around his waist brought him to the realization of the people near him and he quickly breathed in air. Then wiped away his tears as he looked at the civilians slowly letting go of their loved ones. Some stayed in the same place as the raft floated away and looked into the horizon. Others walked back to the shore in tears grieving for the lost ones. The Prince stared at his hand intensely gripping the raft making his knuckles white. There is so many unanswered he has for his father and he almost felt that his father would rise from the grave to give him his answers. Is he even ready to give his family up and move on with his life? He is the youngest, and never trained to become a king, how can he be ready to let go the security of a loving family. But, he had to because his family would be proud of him if he did. He looked into the horizon and saw the pretty colors lining the sky with pink and purple. He wondered how much his mother would like the scenery or how much his mother would like Farah. He felt his grip loosening on the raft and knew that he should let go of his father for his family to enjoy the sunset. Slowly, his fingers unwrapped itself from the wood and pulled away his hand. The raft bobbed on top of the water and wiggled out in front of the Prince. Then it drifted towards the sunset and the Prince watched every second of it. The pain in his heart twitched every time the raft became an inch closer to the sun. He watched till the raft went into the sun and until he couldn't see it anymore. The Prince didn't know how long he stood there, but slowly he turned around to the shore. He sighed; it's going to be long walk back to the shore.


	4. The Moon

A/N: OMG I am sorry! I haven't updated in like FOREVER! School and lack of motivation has really taken a toll on me but I will continue to update, just not as fast as I used to. The story is going to take off after this chapter, sorry if it seems like it is just stuck in one place. So, has anyone ever heard of the theory that if you look at the moon long enough, you will be able to see someone's face? Well, that theory is true! At least to me it is :D Italics are dreams. Enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW.

A/N: Definitions

Hindustan: Word to describe ancient India.

Jain: A follower of the Religion Jainism, which is a sub branch of Hinduism.

Raja: Means king in Hindi.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Persia.**

Chapter 3: The Moon

His heart felt droopy and heavy as he walked step by step to the shoreline. He took his time while walking and felt the overall energy around him. The sand under his feet crumbled deep into the bottom of the ocean and the water swished around him as he walked against it effortlessly. His hands just barely grazed the top of the water current as he lifted his hands to feel the brush of wind against his skin. Closing his eyes and sniffing the air, which is a mix of salty ocean breeze, incense, and warm spices. When he opened his eyes he saw his people on the shoreline embracing one another for comfort and he saw to his surprise, Farah. She stood rather far from everyone, but eventually people greeted her as she is well known throughout the city. However, she seemed uninterested in any conversations and further excluded herself from the population. The Prince noticed that her dress is dirty and she looked very uncomfortable at the moment. He wondered why did she come here if she said to him that she didn't want to be here. The Prince understood why she had refused to come here because the death of Arjun is still fresh in her mind. Perhaps, she came because she wanted to be with him and support him in this sorrowful moment. At least he hoped that's why she came; it would be nice if she actually did pay attention to him for the first time. Slowly, his feet descended upon the sandy shoreline and felt the extreme heat of the sun that is submerged into the sand. Briefly, he felt the chilly sensation of his wet clothing before it succumbed to the heat and then it just felt like warm damp clothing clinging to his body. Oddly, he saw Farah walking towards him and the priest next to him exchanged comforting words. But, his focus was on Farah and studying her. The way she walked, and her facial expression told him that though she is smiling at this moment, she isn't happy. Her smile didn't reach the full extend it could reach, and her eyes betrayed her smile as it is hollow covered in desperation.

"Your majesty." She said while placing her hands and knees on the sand floor looking downwards. The Prince hated it when she did this, but he knew it is politically correct. If he were to show her "special" affection in public it would be deemed as if he had a sexual relations with a foreigner. Which is not bad for him as many men do this but would damage her reputation instead.

"Yes, Farah?" He asked as he looked down at her hoping she would look up to him.

"May I request a private meeting to-"

"Yes, definitely!" He snapped joyously, finally alone time with Farah, he can finally build his relationship with her. "How about tomorrow, perhaps evening?" He asked in excitement, however Farah shivered as she slightly tilted her head to look at him.

"Tomorrow?" She asked tentatively, and the Prince nodded his head.

"Yes, is there a problem?" She took a brief moment to think.

"No, its fine." She answered and the Prince gave a slight grin to her. Maybe his life wouldn't be so glum after all.

...

She slowly stepped in front of a life size mirror inside of her personal bath chamber. She sighed as she gazed at her thin frame and thought about the room she currently is in. The chamber is a low dimmed room with cordial colors of purple and gold. The floor and bath are made of marble, it seems to be fitting for a royal but Farah didn't feel like royalty. Tentatively she reached the bottom of her dress and with one motion she pulled it off. She felt exposed as she looked at her nude body in the mirror and seeing everything that she wants to cover up. The bruises between her thighs and back are now swollen in a bluish purple. She gingerly tried to touch one of the bruises on her thigh, but as soon as she touched it lightly a swoon of pain overcame her. Immediately, she drew back her hand and wondered if these wounds will ever heal. Or did she really want them to heal up? Although, painful these wounds are, they are all self inflicted. Farah isn't sure why she did this to herself, but as she looked at her body again she couldn't hold back a disgusted sigh. These wounds are hardly the worst of her problems, overall she looked malnourished. Her feet slapped against the hard marble floor and echoed in the room as she walked to the bath. Slowly, she dipped one foot into the water and felt the soothing sensation provided by the bath. The water is surprisingly warm and she slid in her other foot then submerged her whole body. The warmth of the water massaged her aching body and she felt so relieved in the water. She swam to a ledge to lay her head on the padded surface of the bath. Allowing her body to submit to the sensation of the warm water and she relaxed into a fixed state. There are many issues she thought about at this moment, but one thought over ruled all of them. Arjun. She knew and the Prince knew exactly what she will feel when she arrived at the beach. Tears stretched down her cheeks from the aching pain in her heart, and she closed her eyes. Where is he when she needs him? Why did he have to be so selfless and go help Kaileena? It felt like an anvil lay on top of her chest as she remembered Arjun. So many questions filled her mind, like why didn't she forget him by now? She breathed in, it still felt like she could smell Arjun's scent and feel his warmth next to her. Somehow, by feeling the sensation of Arjun next to her, she felt comforted. The tears stopped coming, and her eyelids felt heavy. She didn't sleep for a long time and now with the feeling of Arjun presence she finally felt she could go to sleep...

_Little dots of silver covered the dark blue sky; the wind blew effortlessly and made her hair fly carelessly with the wind. But, her attention is on a peculiar man that laid on the soft grass gazing up at the stars in wonderment. Honestly, Farah did not understand why he did this every night. He seemed so serene at this moment, and Farah wondered what exactly he was doing staring at the sky._

_"Are you really going to stand there and stare at me all night?" He asked and Farah was caught off guard then he tilted his head to look at her surprised face. "If you are going to gawk at me, you might want to sit down or something because you look uncomfortable by standing there." A scowl immediately formed on Farah's face as she crossed her arms and gave an "Hmmph!" look._

_"Gawking? Seriously, you flatter yourself. I am just wondering with enemies all around us, why do you lay openly for enemies to spot us easily. Shouldn't we be hiding and trying to find the Vizier?" Arjun gave her a smirk and looked at the sky again._

_"There is no need for panic, it's only been a week here." He said calmly, and Farah gave him a look of disbelief. She seriously thought he had mental problems._

_"Only a week? We should be out of here by now!" She said, and paused for him to give her an answer, but nothing came. For some reason she felt disrespected that he didn't answer back. He just kept staring at the stars, but why? What is so special about it that it completely takes his focus off of her? Overcome with curiosity, she eventually walks to him and sits next to him to look at the stars._

_"Finally." He stated, and Farah really wanted to slap him._

_"You ignored me." She accused._

_"Well, you kept repeating my sentences into rhetorical questions, so I just felt it was useless to talk to you." He explained, and Farah noticed how at peace he is at the moment, as if nothing could interrupt it. She sat and examined him for a bit, noting that he even though is a high ranked soldier, he dresses like a bum and doesn't hesitate to give away whatever priceless items he has. Farah has heard of people like this within Hindustan, and wondered if he is one of them._

_"Are you a Jain?" She asked in curiosity, and Arjun turned a peculiar eye on her._

_"A Jain? That's rather bold don't you think?"_

_"Its a honest question, I have heard that a lot of honorable Rajas became Jains." She answered back and Arjun nodded his head in agreement._

_"True, but I am not a Jain." He grinned._

_"Then why do you dress like a bum and hold onto nothing. You are a warrior and hold high status, you should flaunt it since not many people have the same rights as you." She asked vigorously, and Arjun still didn't look bothered._

_"Tell me, if I was to possess your smile and entitle it to be only mine then nobody else would be able to enjoy your smile. Why would I want to do that? Everyone in this world should witness the glory of your smile. Don't you agree?" He explained cryptically, and Farah narrowed her eyes, hardly believing that it's the same concept._

_"Its not the same-"_

_"Really? In my logic it's the same and material things are hardly worth my time. I'd rather share things, just like the sky." He said mystically while looking upwards, and Farah sighed. Odd, that's all she thought, maybe he took one too many, blows to the head._

_"What does this has to do with the sky?" She asked in confusion, and was growing increasingly tired of Arjun's mysterious strange philosophies._

_"You don't see what I see?" A ringing of recognition came to Farah's mind, she had previously asked the same question to Arjun a while back when she was looking at the sky. "Do you ever miss anyone? My mother told me when I would leave to wars that I should look in the moon and remember her." Immediately a pang of pain thrust across her chest, of course she missed people from home and she looked at him with skepticism._

_"Yes I do but-"_

_"Then look!" He exclaimed while pointing at the moon, and noticed that Arjun wasn't looking at the sky; instead he looked at the moon. Compelled from the passion of his voice she concentrated on the moon but she hardly saw anything. "Do you see their face in the moon?" He whispered in her ear, and Farah almost jumped, when did he get so close to her? He is literally behind her with his hands on her hips. A ticklish feeling erupted across her chest as she thought about Arjun, and she hoped her face didn't turn red._

_"No." She whispered back, still not taking her eyes from the moon._

_"Then close your eyes and imagine the person." He instructed, and for some reason she felt obliged to trust his words. Following his words, she closed her eyes to absorb her environment. She felt the cool strong gusts brushing against her soft skin and making her clothing fly with the wind. The air chilled her lungs when she breathed it in and brought cool sensations throughout her body. She felt Arjun's warm rough but delicate hands around her hips, and she knew that she should not allow this to happen. But it felt so right, like his hands were always supposed to be around her, and to make her feel protected. She absorbed his warmth into her chilled body and it felt soothing to her. His scent felt welcoming to her, and she almost let a smile escape her pursed lips. Catching herself in mid thought and shook away the growing feelings. She focused on thinking about her father, as she had remembered him. _

_"I'm ready." She whispered._

_"Open your eyes."_

Farah's eyes snapped open, and then she felt the deathly cold feeling clinging to her nude body in the bath. Her lungs felt frozen as breathing became difficult, gasping for air she struggled to get a gripping. When her eyes finally glanced at the bath she is in, her eyes filled with terror. It's not water that she lay in; it's a dark red, perhaps maroon colored liquid. Blood, its all over her body. With complete horror written on her face, she quickly gripped the edge of the bath and emerged from the pool of blood. There is blood everywhere, in the bath, the floor, and on her body! She ran out the room, almost slipping from the slippery floor colliding with her soaked body. The cool air only made her feel worse as it gripped to her cold soaked body and she immediately grabbed a cloth from her bed to wrap around herself. She sat in a corner of the room and tried to become warm, but she shivered constantly. However, she felt traumatized by the blood and wanted to scream in anguish but all she did is close her eyes hoping the coldness will go away. Gradually, the freezing sensation left her body as the warmth of the cloth replaced it and her breathing became easier. Gradually, she opened her eyes, and looked down at her nude body that is slightly covered by the cloth. She isn't wet anymore, and there are no traces of blood anywhere. Farah blew a sigh of relief, but then she wondered about her mental state, why did she see blood? She noticed that the cloth wrapped around her is red, and made of silk. It's Arjun's. The cloth he wore under his shirt, and it still had his scent. She laid back on the wall, and closed her eyes. Arjun has saved her life again, by providing her warmth from his estranged clothing. Getting up from her position and feeling relaxed, for the first time in many days. She walked in front of an opened window that allowed her to gaze at the open night sky. Her eyes went directly to the shining white moon and the multiple pits that covered it. The dots on the moon began to merge together and created a face that she recognized well. She saw Arjun in the moon and honestly wondered if he is looking over her. Her tears didn't even register to her as she concentrated mostly on the moon because it resembled Arjun. Farah gripped the cloth tighter around her and sat down to stare at the moon all night.


	5. Closure

_A/N: Well well this is a LONG chapter! Granted I could have made this chapter smaller by getting to the point quicker but I really wanted to emphasize the journey. This entire chapter is in the POV of Farah; the next chapter will have Prince POV. If nobody realized it yet, Farah is experiencing Homesickness, and she thinks she is losing who she is. Her being homesick does not mean that she absolutely hates the Prince; she just resents him because he is blocking her from going home. So, a lot of her feelings for the Prince is all mixed up, as prevalent near the end of the chapter. Another thingy is I think that Farah already has been to the Hanging Gardens but lets just pretend she didn't =P Because I think its fitting since the garden was made for a homesick foreign queen. I know this is getting depressing, but I promise the depression will not last much longer! I tried to incorporate Persian architecture description in here, and Persian clothing as best as I could. Enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW!_

_A/N: Definitions:_

_Sanskrit: Ancient writing system for Indians._

_Avestan: Ancient writing system for Persians._

_Akkadians: The original people that inhabited Babylon, I do not really know how these people looked so I just used imagination._

_Achaemenid: A Persian Empire existed 486 BCE; I think the Prince properly fits into this timeframe and empire._

_Aara: Persian for adoring._

_Adileh: Persian for just and fair._

_Nebuchadnezzar II: An Akkadian king of Babylon during 600 BCE._

_Amytis of Media: Wife of Nebuchadnezzar, she is notable in history as the wife that longed for her home of Media._

_Panchatantra: An ancient fable story written in Sanskrit from Indians, it has 5 stories in all. Including a story called Kakolukiyam, (Hint, Hint!) which is about Crows and Owls (War and Peace)._

_Rostam: A character of the story Shahnameh. It is a Persian epic written in Avestan about the heroic journey of Rostam, who is sort of like the equivalent of Hercules from the west._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Persia**

Chapter 4:Closure

The sound of chirping birds chatting amongst each other mixed with the bustling sounds of the busy streets of Babylon signaled Farah to wake up. The sunlight seemed to pierce through her eyelids, however out of complete stubbornness she kept her eyes shut so she could perhaps catch a few more hours of sleep. A series of knocks on her door made her eyes pop open, immediately she sat up and noticed that she had no clothes on. The knocks kept coming, and Farah quickly grabbed a robe to wrap around herself. She gingerly walked to the door, and looked at her bed again deeply wanting to go back and sleep on the soft warm cushions. With a sigh, she opened the door to a young servant girl holding a very peculiar looking orange package.

"Good afternoon Lady Farah." She tentatively bent her knees to give Farah small bow, but Farah's sleepy eyes became wide in astonishment from her statement. Afternoon? Did she really sleep that long?

"I am sorry that I slept so long." Farah apologized and she brushed her fingers through her thick hair while eyeing the package.

"Its fine. You can sleep as long as you wish!" She said cheerfully with a shining smile that made Farah smile also. "This package is for you." She said while handing it to Farah.

"From?" Farah asked as she studied the package noticing that it looked heavy but the content within is rather light.

"I have no idea, some stranger just said to give it to you." She explained, and Farah wondered if this package is safe for her to open.

"Well..thank you, and you can leave now." She said when she noticed it was time to dismiss her and the servant bowed again.

"Your welcome." She said as she left.

Farah shut the door but continued to keep her eyes glued on the package in her hands. The package is covered with an orange silk cloth and has somewhat amount of gold designs. She sat the package on a table and quickly undid the knot opening it to expose the present inside. The first thing she saw is a folded paper on top of heaps of clothing and jewelry. She unfolded the paper and noticed to her surprise that it is written in Sanskrit, she expected it to be written in Avestan. How thoughtful this person is! Obviously the person who wrote this letter knew she couldn't read Avestan.

_To my lovely sleepy foreigner,_

_I was waiting to give you this gift myself, but it seems like you were a bit too sleepy last night. So, I wrote this letter to you! Are you surprised its written in Sanskrit? There are a lot of things that you do not know about me, as I am not completely a spoiled foolish brat. I wish for you to know more about me and I wish to know more about you. I think today is the day that we will finally see the true selves of each other. So try on these clothes and jewelry, I picked them out myself. Enjoy your day because I will have your evening! Meet me at the eastern gates during the setting of the sun._

_Prince Sharaman_

A wide smile encompassed her sleepy visage, and Farah couldn't help but blush. She tried to bite back her smile but she couldn't, the fact that he knew Sanskrit is rather impressive. It brought joy to her to know that he's interested in knowing her, and hand picked outfits for her. While gushing she quickly settled the letter down and went after the clothing. However, when she laid her eyes on the clothing, her gushing ended. The clothing is Persian, high end Persian clothing, and her smile turned into a scowl. For some reason she felt naked and hollow while looking at the clothing. There is nothing wrong with the clothing; in fact she wore Persian clothing all the time now. But, she felt sick when she looked at this clothing, and the jewelry, it's all fit for a Persian Queen. A _Persian Queen_, she immediately turned away from the gift. She does not want to be a Persian Queen, then why would she want to dress like one? Gripping her robe tightly around her nude body, she became very conscience of her surroundings with wide eyes she scanned her room. Noticing the distinctive arch dome of her room, and the unique curvature of the windows that allowed her to gaze out to the streets. She walked in front of a life size mirror and examined the robe she wore. The pink robe is made of the best material available in all trades with heavily embedded golden designs. Her fingertips faintly grazed the designs on the robe, and suddenly her stomach lurched. Unable to handle the coming wave of nausea, she bent her knees and gripped her stomach trying to hold it in. But, her attempt was futile as the rising bile rushed up her throat and she felt the tell tale signs of vomit. She ran across the room and found a bucket. Holding the bucket with both hands and bending her body so the vomit could come easier. The vomit felt painful, but it went by very quickly and Farah wiped her mouth. She sat back on the wall and exhaled in air, her stomach felt better now but now she has a bitter taste in her mouth.

...

The crowd moved spontaneously in every direction, and people hardly paid attention to anyone unless they were obviously rich by wearing expensive clothing. However, Farah made sure that she didn't wear anything outstanding, just a regular tanned long sleeved dress that extended down to her feet with a simple gold necklace. She had to admit that the loosely fitted Persian clothing is quite comfortable, certainly more comfortable than the clothing of her homeland. However, she just had to leave the palace and the present the Prince had given to her. Farah needed to feel the outdoors, and the marketplace is an ideal destination. She saw shopkeepers and shoppers chatting deals with one another about interesting artifacts. A couple of maps had caught the eye of Farah, however she simply only glanced the regions on the maps trying to pinpoint her homeland. The air seemed deadly dry with only an occasional wind that would blow her flowing gown. For some reason she felt better out in the hot desert breeze, it brought her a feeling of home to her. Her eyes searched each stand for a certain peculiar item, and her fingers instinctively twirled big curls in her long hair. She didn't braid her hair anymore, since it is not common in Persia to keep hair up, instead the women often let their dark vibrant hair down with natural curls. The distinctive smell of cooked dough reached her awaiting nostrils and carved a path to the stand that made it. The smell became stronger as she followed the scent to a small stand made of wood beside two other small stands that sold other types of food. A young girl stood behind the stand next to a make shift oven with an older woman flipping bread. Farah stopped to look at the duo for a bit; they didn't look like the average Persian or Babylonian. The mother and daughter had a very peculiar look amongst them; they had light green eyes with sandy to blonde hair. Perhaps, it was their fair skin or sharp features but Farah knew that this family is Akkadians. As she approached the stand she got a better view of the daughter, and noticed her distinctive sleeveless white long dress with a tan vest on top.

"Good afternoon." Farah greeted with a slight smile, and the little girl looked up with bright green eyes under her mop like blonde hair. Farah was taken aback by the uniqueness of her appearance; this is the first time she saw an Akkadian.

"Almost evening now." She answered back cheerfully with a rosy smile showing her two missing front teeth, and her cheeks became pink. Farah looked past the girl and to the woman crouched over a flat oven cooking a flat piece of dough.

"Are there any fresh ones?" She asked as she signaled to the bread, and the girl nodded.

"Quite a few, about fifteen that were made within the last twenty minutes." She answered.

"Great I'll take all of them." The child's eyes widened.

"Really? They cost about five gold coins each." She asked in disbelief, and Farah smiled while pulling out her pouch.

"I am aware of the price." The child scurried and carefully stacked each fresh bread on top of each other then putting it delicately in a thin brown hand woven basket.

"Are you sure you want to buy this much? They are quite big...maybe I can talk to my mother to the lower prices." She offered as she laid the basket on the stand but Farah dismissed the idea with a wave.

"You are Akkadian?" She asked as she set the pouch down and the child looked downwards as she asked the question.

"Yes." She whispered and Farah wondered why did she look so upset.

"You don't seem to be happy to be Akkadian?" She asked curiously and the girl courageously looked up at Farah.

"Babylon has always been my people's home, but now it is also everyone else's." She answered truthfully and Farah saw the hurt in the girl's eyes feeling the burn in her heart as if she understood what the girl felt.

"Now it is the Achaemenid's." She whispered and the girl nodded, barely taking her eyes from the girl Farah reached into her pouch. Fishing for gold coins, but instead pulled out two handfuls. She briefly looked at the glittering gold coins it should be more than enough for the bread. She settled the coins down on the counter while grabbing the basket, and the girl's eyes widened considerably as she looked at the coins in wonder.

"Thank you so much!" She exclaimed as her eyes glittered while gazing at the gold coins.

"You deserve it." Farah answered as she walked off.

...

Farah took in a deep breath to try to steady herself, the heartfelt moment with the Akkadian stuck with her. She knew how it felt to have rightful possessions to be taken away and there is something else she felt. But she couldn't really figure out what she felt, maybe hopelessness? Clutching the basket tightly she shook her face and tried to focus herself before she knocked on the door. She stood in front of a yellowish beige home made of clay, and a wooden door. Her other hand is balled up and ready to knock, but Farah didn't know if she is ready to talk to the people behind this door. She did not know if she could face her cowardice, or even if she could apologize to him. But ever since she did the act of leaving him alone, she felt guilty about it and she knew that she wouldn't be able to get the guilty feeling gone unless she apologizing. Slowly and tentatively she raised her fist lightly tapping the wooden door emanating a faint sound. After the first series of knocks, she sighed again, and got ready to knock again until the door flew open.

"Lady Farah?" The young woman stood with similar clothing but of cheaper quality and orange in color. However, as if it just registered to her of who stood in front of her, she immediately bowed making her long wavy locks grazing the sandy ground. "My apologies." She explained as she stood up.

"Its fine." Farah dismissed, honestly she felt uncomfortable when people bowed to her.

"Please come in, would you like some tea?" She offered as she outstretched her thin arms to her home, but Farah didn't budge.

"Aara, I just wanted to know if Arsalan is home?" She asked, and Aara pulled her arm away.

"He's not home, I think he went to the harbor with his friends." She answered and Farah looked downwards almost disappointed. "I can go get him." She offered, but Farah just shook her head. "I know why you want to talk to him." She said and Farah looked up immediately to Aara's fair face.

"I want to apologize." Farah said truthfully, but this time Aara is shaking her head.

"No need, it was my brother's fault to keep prodding on your past." Farah's heart felt all mucky and confused at the time.

"But I shouldn't have acted the way I did." She said with glossed eyes and Aara's face softened as she reflected on her past.

"You did what everyone would have done, trust me I know how it is to lose parents. I know your pain." She reached over and patted Farah's back noticing how confused Farah looked at the moment. "Come inside, you need to let your pain out." She said convincingly, and Farah really wanted to let out all her pain. But, the time is closing in on her and she had to meet the Prince, so she shook herself away from Aara.

"I brought some bread for Arsalan, Adileh, and you."

...

After sneaking back into the palace Farah worked frantically as she saw the pink lining marking the sky, it's going to be sunset soon. Quickly, she stripped herself of her commoner clothing and stepped into a fast bath, she can't smell like the market when she meets the Prince. Holding back the rising bile she took a breath and picked up the long gown and slipped it on. It fitted her perfectly, and hugged her every curve. The quality of the clothing is sheer when light hits the clothing it glows with golden sparks. In the inner part of the dress is dark green and the borders are thick with dark wine red. The dress has no sleeves, but came with a green - red combination shawl to wrap around her thin shoulders. She felt oddly very comfortable in these clothes, as if she wore nothing at all and she wondered how did he know her size so well? However, she did not want to look in the mirror, because she knew what would happen if she did. She then turned her attention to the thick gold necklace, it had a medium size chain but the giant square golden piece in the middle is breathtaking, it's the size of both of her fists! The top of the piece is smaller than the bottom, with three small rubies in the middle and multiple small dangling pieces on the bottom. Surprisingly, the necklace didn't seem heavy to her when she wore it probably because she was already used to wearing heavy jewelry. The last part of the outfit is a golden band that would be placed on the middle of her forehead and placed on top of her hair to extend all the way to the back of her head, sort of like a crown. She quickly combed her hair, not too much though just enough she could get natural bouncy curls. Then she put on the eyeliner around her thick eyelashes. Glancing out the window, she saw the swirls of bluish pink hue in the sky, its time to go! Grabbing her sandals, she snuck out of the room to go to the eastern gate.

...

She broke a strap from one of the sandals! While trying to run and put on sandals is not one of the greatest ideas to do, she succeeded to put one sandal on but the other one broke. She still wore it, but was careful when running with it almost fell twice from it. As she approached the eastern gates a tell tale figure stood tall against the gates, when she came closer she saw him in more detail. He wore a loose fitted long dark blue shirt with equally loose fitted golden colored pants. The shirt is long sleeved, however he still had a shawl on his shoulders. A band or a golden headdress encompassed his head matching his long necklace, but the most striking feature is his square like beard. Although Farah didn't like the look, it is pretty customary for Persians to have this type of beard. It seemed that he was equally studying as she came to him and she bowed but at the same time he grabbed her hand. She still had one knee down on the ground and the other bent, but the Prince still gripped her hand. He proceeded to place his lips on the back of her hand. She cringed and wanted to pull away but she allowed it anyway until he is done. When he took his lips away from her hand it made a smacking sound as he raised her to his level. Still hand in hand, he stared at her eyes, and she wanted to pull away from his blue eyes but she couldn't. Those blue eyes were so hypnotic, it is like she is searching in a water well for...what? Answers? Love?..Hope? What did she look for when she looked into those blue eyes? Realizing that she was staring, she immediately averted her gaze and he became aware of it too by letting go of her hand.

"You look absolutely beautiful." He said as he gazed upon her face again and she gave him a faint smile while swishing her feet around in the cool grass.

"You picked it out, I just wore it." She said slightly, and the Prince smiled sheepishly.

"Do you like it?" He asked, and she really wanted to say no, but she knew better.

"Do you like it?" And again all the Prince could do is smile sheepishly and blush like a little boy talking to his first crush.

"I love it." He said as he took a step forward licking his lips and Farah shifted uneasily. This action made the Prince stop in his tracks, and look at her more intently. Noticing that she averted her eyes away from him and she clasped her hands in front. Sensing a disconnect between each other, he looked back at the stone gate. "Come." He said while leading her to a secret alley from the eastern gates. Through, the stone hallways they entered a green garden, but it wasn't any garden. The sky is now dark, but the garden swarmed with color. Flowers, birds, and ponds flourished with a majestic energy, it had flowers literally growing from the ceiling reaching down to the ponds. The Prince took satisfaction in seeing Farah's awed expression as she looked at everything in order and carelessly walked through it.

"What is this?" She whispered as her wide eyes looked upwards.

"The Hanging Gardens." He said confidently and immediately Farah turned on him.

"The Hanging Gardens?" She repeated in excitement as if she didn't believe it, and the Prince nodded. "You mean the one from legends? I only heard it from traveling folks." She expressed breathlessly, and the Prince fearing she may faint calmly put a hand on her shoulder.

"Its quite real." She swooned falling in his arms.

...

Farah could smell the garden, and it is something she cannot describe, it's not just a garden. It brought her hope and excitement, like it brought energy to her! Feeling the soft cushion under head she lazily opened one of her eyes to see the Prince sitting across fiddling with his curly hair. She smirked; he's such a narcissistic. Opening both of her eyes she rose to a sitting position, and she somehow didn't feel so negative anymore.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he let go of his lock to look at her in concern.

"Fine." Actually she felt better than ever before. "What is this place?" She asked as she looked around again.

"This was built by Nebuchadnezzar for his foreign wife Amytis of Media because she felt homesick." He explained, and Farah somehow felt it is sort of like her situation. She wanted to go home, and no matter how much she would get along with the people of this kingdom or get used to their custom. If she didn't go home then she will continue to feel this sickening feeling, and the Prince cannot replicate her home for her. "So, I take it that you got my letter?" Farah snapped out of her contemplations and looked at him.

"You know Sanskrit?"

"Surprised?"

"Of course!" She exclaimed and he smiled.

"Well, I'm actually quite well versed in every culture. Some of the epics written in Sanskrit are quite popular in my kingdom." He explained, and Farah really could not refute his claims. Finding him to be increasingly interesting, so there is more to a brash Persian prince, she thought.

"Have you read Panchatantra?" She asked, it's her favorite book she remembered her mother reading it to her and she often read it as an adult.

"No, what is it?" He asked curiously, and her mind went back to her days of the many stories within the book.

"Its fantastic! You need to read it! Its actually five stories about animal stereotypes." She said cheerily, and the Prince looked confused.

"Animal stereotypes?" He asked, and she began to giggle, of course he wouldn't know about animal stereotypes.

"Its hard to explain if you are not of my people, however it is what people perceive of how the animals are like. Such as the lion and bull, do you think they would be friends? Because they are both fierce and strong however are hot tempered. That's a stereotype." She explained and the Prince slowly nodded his understanding.

"Seems interesting." He concluded.

"Who is Rostam?" She asked, she had seen statues of a man wearing a helmet killing beasts on a horse and often people would say its Rostam. However, she had no idea what a "Rostam" is.

"You don't know who Rostam is?" He asked incredulously like he was insulted.

"I am not Persian! How would I know?" She snapped back.

"He is just the greatest hero ever! Man can take down a bull and a lion with one hand!" Farah narrowed her eyes at him.

"That's all I hear! Rostam this, Rostam that. Rostam can topple a whole palace by just looking at it." She said sarcastically, and now the Prince narrowed his eyes at her.

"Don't insult Rostam, it can end in exile!" He said dramatically as he pointed at the exit, and she just sat back raising an eyebrow. "Better than animals talking to each other." Farah's eyebrow cringed and replaced with a sour face.

"What's wrong with animals talking to each other?"

"A bit childish isn't it?" Farah's lips became tighter and the Prince's smile became wider.

"You are one to talk about childish acts!" She said as she rose with a demeaning look in her face, however the Prince kept smiling. Farah had to admit, that her anger is feigned and not really how she felt at the moment. Gradually, she let the intense face go, but she still kept a stoic visage, remembering why she had called him. "My Prince." She began as she tentatively tried to pick out words to say to him in a soothing matter. However, the Prince noticed the tone in her voice, and his smile also gradually faded away also.

"Yes?" He asked as he rose to her, and Farah could literally feel her heart pounding from anxiety.

"I..." She trailed off, as the words weren't formulating and the Prince prompted her to continue. "I...I don't belong here." She averted her gaze from the Prince to avoid looking at his confused expression.

"What do you mean?" He asked, and Farah knew he is confused, perhaps even angry. But, she needed to get her message across; she couldn't live like this anymore. "Persia is your home, nobody will ever take this away from you." The combination of "Persia" and "home" brought a painful pang in her heart. Persia is not her home, not now, not ever. She balled up her fists from her sides trying to hide her protests from her face. "Why would you think Persia is not-"

"Because it is not!" She had cut him off looking at him with pleading eyes, but he only looked at her with confusion, like he didn't understand. "Why do you insist?" She accused with quivering lips. "When you know I am not happy? If you love me as you claim then you should have noticed that I am not happy here." She said, and the Prince's visage softened.

"I can make things right, I just need time -"

"And I..." She trailed off again, and closed her eyes trying to look for the word from her heart, what did she really need? "I need...I need closure." Finally, the word came out of how she really felt, what she really did need.

"Closure?" He asked in bafflement, and she nodded to him. "Closure, from what?"

"My life." She expressed, and she felt numb across her body as she let her true feelings out. "I want to go back to my homeland, and to..." What will she really do over there? What if nothing is there? "To figure myself out." Figuring it would be better if she found out what she really wanted when she finally did reach her home. She waited for a response, and noticed that he is silent perhaps in contemplations as he looked as if he is in deep thought.

"I see..." He trailed, and Farah heard the hint of hurt in his voice, immediately she looked at him with wide eyes. "I should have known better than to impose..." He looked in her eyes. "My love upon you." The anger and confusion left his voice as it is filled sorrow and realization. Somehow, Farah didn't like this and she disagreed with it. Confusion rang clear in her heart, he didn't impose his love to her but she just pushed it away. She began to unconsciously shake her head in denial, trying to grasp her logic of why he didn't impose love on her.

"When I first saw you by those buildings, I felt something!" She screamed trying to get all of her confusion and denial out as she remembered her first reaction to the Prince. "It's this connection that I have with you, and I didn't know what it was before." The hurt still did not leave his visage, but Farah concentrated more on her memories. "The connection doesn't go away, and I still have it. I don't know what will come from this connection. Do you know what I mean?" She asked shakily and the Prince nodded.

"During the time that I was in the Island of Time, all I had was your memories." He looked at her with glossed eyes. "You were gone as far as I knew...all I thought about is you." He averted his gaze from her, and she wanted to keep his eye contact. "And now I have you, but you do not want to be with me." Farah felt his pain, and knowing well of being denied love as she put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "How do you think this makes me feel?" He whispered to her, and honestly Farah couldn't come up with anything. What can she say? Did she really understand his pain for so many years? But how could she provide him love, when the only thing she has is a connection. She really wanted to love him, but the sickening guilt consumed her daily and it made go through mood swings.

"How do you think it makes me feel?" She asked rhetorically. "I have no memory, how can I love you? When I feel guilty and dirty if I ever do have these connections with you. I feel that I am betraying my father, my brother, my kingdom if I ever consented to you." She explained as she gently stroked his right cheek, and his eyes never left hers. They stood hand on cheek, and eyes never separating for a long period of time. Each person trying to study one another, and Farah could only guess what the Prince is thinking. But, inside Farah it was something like a mixed vegetable soup with so many feelings erupting inside her from love to outrage. She felt on the verge as the emotions continue to consume, it brought a thick headache to her but she still kept her eyes hypnotized by the Prince.

"Fine." He breathed, and it seemed like Farah also breathed for the first time in a while. "I will arrange for you to leave and go to your homeland." He explained stoically, however Farah was relieved it is like her muscles began to relax for the first and made an ecstasy feeling throughout her body. "But." She halted. "We have not made contact with Hindustan yet, so as soon as I can I would arrange for your safe departure." He explained, and Farah became confused, it's been months since the Prince revived the Kingdom and relations have not been made with Hindustan yet?

"Really, relations have not been made yet?" She asked and the Prince nodded.

"We are kind of lacking, but don't worry we will contact them soon." He assured her, and Farah couldn't help but to feel disappointed that she will be delayed. However, she nodded her agreement, at least she told him what she needed.


	6. Lies

_A/N: Happy late HALLOOWEEEN! I dressed up as a cop! Hehe sorry this chapter is kind of really late. I'll try to post the next one quicker. Hey is anyone an Assassin's Creed fan? I am thinking about doing a Cross fic with POP and Assassin's Creed, probably post it sometime soon. Be sure to look it up :) This chapter is entirely from the Prince's point of view. The Prince is mentioned in a couple titles such as "Shah" or "Lord", well I just found that "Shah" is a correct title for him so he will be called that from now on. However, Farah will continue to call him Prince because that is just how it is! Also I am mentioning some cities that were once the capitals of the Achaemenid Empire, by the way Babylon is now modern day Baghdad, Iraq. Next chapter I guarantee things will move further. Enjoy and please review._

_A/N: Definitions:_

_Satrap: Governors of states or cities. _

_Sohrab: From the story Shahnameh, son of Rostam and Rostam found out that he was his son only when he killed him._

_Tahmineh: From the story Shahnameh, daughter of King of Samangan. She had a relationship with Sohrab and was given a bracelet from Rostam to remind her of Sohrab after he died._

_King Kaykavous: From the story Shahnameh, was the King of Persia during Rostam's time._

_Zoroaster: The person who brought Zoroastrianism._

_Shah: The title of King in the Achaemenid Empire._

_Pasargadae: A city near modern day Persepolis, Iran_

_Susa: Modern day Shush, Iran_

Ekbatana: Modern day Hamadan, Iran

Parvaiz: Persian for victorious.

Qubad: Means a character from Shahnameh.

Razeen: Persian for polite.

_Hindustani: A reference to a person of Hindustan origin._

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Persia. **

Chapter 5: Lies

He sat in his soft cushioned seat that is adorned in different colors of gems and the people around him sat in similar type of seats. These people were his satraps from all across his vast kingdom that he inherited. As they chatted of current events, the Prince could barely pay attention to any of it. He simply gazed at them in a hollow gaze. With one elbow on the table and his hand on his cheek to keep his head from falling on the table. Sometimes he would look upwards and marvel at the architecture of the dome with decorations depicting the tragic story of Sohrab, Tahmineh, and showing vivid drawings of the great king Kaykavous. Sohrab stood in amazement as the sword slipped through his ribs by his father and Tahmineh stood in distress. The grizzly beard depiction of the Achaemenid soldiers stood adjacent to the story of Sohrab. He wondered if he would ever get an artistic depiction like that of Sohrab or Rostam. What about his father? Surely he deserves to be placed next to these characters with Zoroaster looking over them.

"Shah, what do you think?" Immediately the Prince snapped out of his thoughts, and shifted his attention to Parvaiz, the satrap of Pasargadae. The Prince had of heard him from his father, and by all accounts everything is true about him. Slightly old, but remained fit with only a few pieces of gray hair in a long beard and big wise brown eyes. Parvaiz was hand picked by his father to lead the people of that land, and he had always been the type of person that only looked for the good of his people. Perhaps, that is why Pasargadae is a prosperous state rather than the capital Babylon. "Shah Sharaman?" He asked becoming concerned for the lack of response from the Prince.

"What exactly is the point of the proposal?" The Prince carefully picked his words trying to hide his clueless ness, but Razeen the satrap of Susa completely saw through his ruse and chuckled softly.

"Well, the proposals were to make diplomatic relations with countries such as Greece, further in Africa, or the most favorable is Hindustan." The Prince raised an eyebrow at the mention of Hindustan; making further contact with this country would eventually reach Farah. She wouldn't appreciate his little white lie that he told her, because trade with Hindustan had already ensued for months now. However, if he had told her that Babylon was already in contact with Hindustan then she would want to leave. And he just couldn't let her leave, and his hand turned into a fist as he tried to hold back his emotions. He knew that Farah wanted to go back to her homeland, but he also knew she wouldn't back if she did leave. He needed more time to make her fall in love with him again, even if it meant telling her little lies. "So, what do you think?" Said Qubad, the satrap of Ekbatana more pressingly.

The Prince dropped his hand away from his face and sat up straight looking at all of satraps in the eyes knowing well that his thoughts differed from there's. "I don't think diplomatic relations is our first priority." He said and he can tell that nobody in the room agreed with him.

"Why? We need to have friendly contact with other nations." Razeen argued and everyone else nodded their agreement but the Prince is adamant about his decision.

"No, what we need is to have border control and secure it from invasions." He reinforced again, but he still could tell the doubt in their expressions. "We are all Persians, the people that we rule do not have the same background as us. Our people need guidance from us; they do not need outside influence. A rebellion against us would be the end of the Achaemenid Empire." Slowly they began to agree with him, and he quickly hid his smile. Ethnic nationalism always will win against foreign influence.

"Perhaps trading is the only thing we should pursue." Qubad thought as he rubbed his chin vigorously.

"Exactly, we need to focus on reconstruction. Jobs need to be created so that our economy can start up again." Another Parvaiz suggested, and the conversation heated up again. The Prince could finally lay back and let the conversations continue in a harmless cycle.

...

It took the Prince a minute to get up from his seat because he sat for such a long time by the time he got up his bottom felt numb and his legs were asleep. I really got to go out sometimes, he thought. He feared that perhaps he might get to close to sitting on the throne and become too sedentary. He was adjusting his long robe, when he felt a very warm hand clamp down on his shoulder. He turned to see the generous eyes of the satrap of Pasargadae.

"Parvaiz?" He asked, and the old man looked around to see if anyone were looking at them.

"I have heard that you have not chosen a consort." He whispered, and the words hit the Prince like a slap across the face. He almost feared the next words the man is going to say. "My youngest daughter is not married yet, she would be perfect for you." Damn, he knew this was going to happen. It would seem odd that he didn't choose a consort yet, and he didn't want to outright deny his daughter. How is he going word this?

"I would love to marry your daughter, but I have already unofficially chosen a consort." He said as easily as he could decide to tell the truth, and the satrap gave him a peculiar look.

"Who might this consort be? Why hasn't the public been informed?" He asked pressingly, and the Prince truly wondered why did he care who his consort is.

"Well, she has not accepted my hand yet." He said truthfully again, and the pressing face of the satrap retracted but he still seemed curious.

"Who is she?" He asked, and the Prince wondered if he should tell him about it and if the man would be judgmental of him.

"Farah." He answered, and the man's face twisted into something comical like he was about to burst into laughter or tears.

"The woman from Hindustan?" He asked trying to back a smile, and the Prince nodded. "I thought she was your concubine." He said as his face turned red and the Prince's face turned red also. But, his face turned red because of sheer anger towards the old man, how dare he think of Farah as a concubine.

"Why would you say that? She is of royal blood." He whispered back harshly trying desperately to hold back his rage as he saw the man laugh.

"It does not matter, these women from Hindustan are beautiful but hold no value. You would go nowhere marrying her because she may be of royal blood the kingdoms don't hold high status for their women." He ranted and the Prince's hand crumpled into a fist as his eyes pierced through the man in anger. "In fact you can probably purchase a Hindustani noble woman from trade because they often do get conquered." His eyes glossed over as anger fumed in him, and he briefly wondered if this man knew how angry he felt at this moment. "I have purchased these noble women, one for my harem and two for my son's harem. They are quite satisfying-" He never finished his sentence as the Prince's fist unconsciously sailed across the air and connected to the man's jaw with a thud. The old man fell flat on the floor with a tooth flying out and his eyes were shut in a deep sleep. The Prince hardly paid attention to the people around him as they gawked in awe and were wondering if they should help the poor man. However, the haunting figure of the Prince menacingly standing above the unconscious man made everyone stand nervously wondering the next action of the Prince. The only thing the Prince saw in his mind is Farah becoming a slave to a man like the Satrap of Pasargadae. How could this happen? She did not deserve this, and it brought a sore feeling in his heart when he thought of this. Because not too long did he think the same way as him. He almost made Farah into a slave when they first met; he is not going to make the same mistake twice. He took one last look at the miserable satrap, he knew he is going receive heat for attacking such a "noble" man, but from now onwards the respect he has for this man is changed. He quickly looked up scanning the scared people around him, and he still had his scowl on his face.

"Clean him up." He ordered as he left the building, still feeling the burning rage deep within his heart.

...

He leaned on the railing as he overlooked his empire, the hot wind would blow once in a while making his robe swiftly move side to side. He closed his eyes trying to let go of his anger and stressful worries and suck in the vibrant positive energy of his empire. Today, he assaulted a respected man surely his father would scorn him for his actions. He is mixing passion with business and its not supposed to be like this. He knew that this should not be happening. Dodging reasonable suggestions from his satraps to reinforce his own master plans. He opened his eyes and looked at the city apologetically, he wanted to say so much to his beloved empire. Everything seems so cloudy these days to him, and he thought that after killing the Vizier everything would be easier. But, it has been so emotionally draining to him. He wanted to be with Farah, marry her, touch her, and feel her warmth next to him. It has been so many years, yet he felt so much distance with her even today. She wants to go back to her home but there is so much of a risk for her to go there, what if she never comes back? His heart cannot afford to let go of her again. A faint familiar voice brought him out of thoughts as he turned to face the woman.

"Prince." Farah whispered, and the Prince immediately tried to reach out to touch her but he noticed the two girls next to her.

"Leave." He ordered with a hand gesture and they bowed as they left. The Prince studied Farah as she stood her hands delicately intertwined in front of her body as she looked downwards. There is something on the edge with her and the Prince couldn't put his finger on it. He took a step forward and she looked up. He halted his steps as he saw her swollen red eyes rimmed with tears, he opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off.

"Tell me why." She whispered as the tears burst through again, and looked at her in confusion. What is she talking about?

"What?" Is all he can say, but she kept shaking her head.

"Why are you playing games with me?" She kept going, and the Prince felt so confused, what games is she talking about?

"I don't know-"

"Please don't act like have no clue! I know you are telling me lies!" She screamed to him, and the Prince still had no idea becoming increasingly frustrated from her antics.

"What lies are you talking about?" He snapped back having enough of her outrageous attitude, but Farah's anger didn't wavier.

"You told me that you had not made any contact with Hindustan." Immediately, he lowered his eyes wondering how she had found out about it or how he could divert the situation. "But, you lied." She continued, and the Prince opened his mouth to say something but she stopped him. "I know this is a fact, you can't lie anymore." She sneered, and he paused wondering what to say next or how he could defend himself. He heard Farah sniff as if she is sobbing but he dared not to look upon her. "Wh..what else have you lied to me about?" She whispered and the Prince couldn't take it anymore as he looked up at her face. Noticing that the salty tears coming down her cheeks made red lines appear on her cheeks. Her eyes were swollen as if she had been punched as she produced more tears. But, what he noticed most of all is her vulnerability at this moment. It seemed as if she was going to rip his head off a while back but now she seemed like a helpless prisoner. Her eyebrows were arched in a pleading manner asking him to show her mercy and let her go. The Prince knew that he should let her go and let her live her life the she wanted to, however his heart consumed his actions. His heart couldn't let go of someone he has dreamed of for every moment since the last seven years. "Please." She pleaded again, and the Prince lowered his face again.

"How did you find out?" He asked in defeat as he kept his head lowered.

"From a trader selling peacocks... he told me that the empire has been trading with them for quite a while now." He didn't talk as he thought deeply; of course the marketplace is her favorite spot to go. "What did you want to accomplish by telling me lies." She asked in genuine curiosity, and the Prince was at a loss of words.

"I wanted...I didn't." He looked into her eyes trying to conjure words to justify his actions. "I didn't want to be let down again." He finally confessed as she looked at him with confusion but he knew exactly what to say. "If you leave then I'd feel that I have to start my life again." He said as his eyes clouded up, as the memories of being alone came again. "I don't want to this all over again, I don't want to go through all the ache again." He confessed softly as he tried to hold back his tears and he didn't know how her face looked because his sight is smeared. "You want me to understand you, but can you understand me? I have been through so many broken hearts and sorrow...so many years. If you leave then I would feel broken again." He said and he put his face in his open palms rubbing his eyes trying to take the tears away. For a moment she was quiet as if she was digesting what he said, and he solemnly waited for her answer. If she wanted to still go or not after she heard his reasons.

"There is a caravan coming next week from Hindustan." She whispered with her lowered face, and he removed his fingers from his eyes giving her a pleading look. "I will be leaving with it." She said then turned and quickly left without another word as her dress flowed behind her. She could have pierced his heart with arrows as her words had hurt him ten times worse than any arrow could. He felt like a disaster as he lost what little he had left to live for, what could he do now? The adventurous life is not his anymore, his family is not here, and now Farah is gone. He crumbled on the floor trying to get a grip of his spiraling life from getting out of control.


	7. Farewell

_A/N: I am soooo sorry I haven't updated lately! I am going to finish this story though no matter how long it takes. I suggest that the people that are reading this story to REVIEW please because it does serve as inspiration for more updates. There are people who did review for my last chapter and I promise that I will reply as soon as possible J Thanks to everyone that has reviewed my story! Another thing that I have to explain about this chapter is that during 500 BC, the country known as India didn't exist but was only a land named Hindustan. Kind of like the Americas, and there are USA and Canada within the Americas. So the kingdom that Farah is from is called is Virata, which does not exist in 500 BC but I did that on purpose. The place she wants to go is the Kingdom of Matsya where her sister is at. My information on these kingdoms is NOT accurate; I only got this information from a 500 BC map of the Achaemenid Empire. Enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW._

_Definitions:_

_Panchala Empire: A kingdom during 500 BC in modern day India that was from the Himalayas to the river Ganges. _

_Virata Empire: A kingdom during an unknown time before 500 BC in modern day India in the area of the state known as Rajasthan._

_Surasena Empire: A kingdom during 500 BC in modern day India in the area of the state known as Uttar Pradesh._

_Matsya Empire: A kingdom during 500 BC in modern day India in the area of the states known as Rajasthan and Haryana._

_Heer: Hindi for Self Respect._

_Edi: Hindi for herb._

_Mahir: Hindi for Skillful._

Chapter 6: Farewell

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Persia**

The wooden wheels turned slowly clockwise as it churned the sand under it, hardly making any forward movement because the camels were too tired. The cotton blue shawl around Farah's face protected her from the heat and kept her luscious black hair from flying in every direction. She kept a good grip on the shawl so that it won't fly away either, and she also gripped her bag in her other hand. Her eyes scanned the outskirts of the marketplace looking for a very peculiar looking bunch of caravans, but often she would look behind her back to check if the Prince is there. To her disappointment, he isn't there. In fact, they haven't spoken to each other for a week since that day. Constantly, she reminded herself that it is her decision to leave and she must stick to it. However, the thought of leaving the Prince in such a negative note didn't seem to settle with her. He offered a home, and treated her like royalty. The least she could do is apologize to him. Many times during the week she walked towards his chambers, but like a coward she hesitated and avoided him. The coward in her still is in her as she kept her feet planted on the ground rather than finding the Prince. She lowered her gaze in thought; he should know where she is.

"Lady Farah look!" Farah immediately looked up thinking it was the Prince finally coming to say farewell to her. However, again to her utter disappointment it isn't him. Gradually, the faint smile that had formed on her face soon became her customary emotionless plain face. Farah focused on the caravans that were pointed out and indeed these caravans matched the descriptions given by the trader. In all, there are three medium sized caravans that carried a variety of exotic treasures Farah knew of. The blue and green peacocks with flaring tails that resembled eyes slept auspiciously in a cage of one of the caravans. The other caravans carried spices, rice, and mangoes fresh from the farms that produced these delicious items. She could smell the spices from a mile away and still be reminded of home; however she had to be careful about the people behind the caravans. Indeed, they are of Hindustan origin, but the place itself is big composed of many different kingdoms. The flag is placed in plain view on the caravan and it clearly states they are of the Panchala Dynasty. Farah remembers this kingdom, and the relationship between her kingdom and this one could only be described as a love hate relationship. Often the fights between her kingdom known as Virata against the Panchalas would cause a rift with the powerful kingdom of Surasena. However, as far as she knows, the Kingdom of Virata is long dead with her father. Probably, if she presents herself as a commoner of Matsya from Jaipur, they would allow her to come along. Of course money would play a huge factor to travel with these caravans. She softly gripped the delicate hand on her shoulder and squeezed it for support while turning to face the two young women who stood by her during this time. Aara and Adileh seem like her guardian angels they stood by held her up to keep on waiting, and kept her hopes alive. Yet, these two dusky sisters viewed her as something divine sent by Zoacaster himself. It seemed absurd to Farah, how can she be viewed as a savior. But, no matter what she appreciated their company and enjoyed exchanging stories with one another. Looking for support and assurance in Adileh's deep dark eyes she gripped her hand tighter prompting a reaction. Adileh slightly nodded then averted her eyes away, and Farah recognized her answer. The slight nod meant that she understood why she is leaving but didn't agree with it, why would she think that? Farah looked at Aara and noticed that her reaction is the same as Adileh's.

"You don't agree with me leaving?" Farah asked curiously as she let go of Adileh's hand.

"It's not as cut and dry as that." Adileh tentatively explained in her tiny voice.

"What do you mean?" She asked and both of the women straightened themselves glancing at each other.

"The road to your home is dangerous and unpredictable." Aara explained with wide worried eyes.

"What do you wish to accomplish by going there? What if there is nothing there?" Adileh asked as she gripped her shawl tighter as the wind blew more sand towards her.

"Don't worry I will be fine." Farah cheerfully assured them but they didn't seem so convinced.

"How do you know?" Aara asked, and Farah honestly closed her eyes in thought for the answer when she opened her eyes again.

"Because of this." She signaled to the bag she held in her hand. "These belongings are from a special person who will always look after me and make sure that I will be safe." It may seem awkward, strange, or perhaps even desperate that she still kept Arjun's belongings for protection but for some reason she felt safe with his belongings. She smiled when both Aara and Adileh gave her perplexed looks.

...

He left imprints over the sands he crossed as he raced across the streets anxiety overruling all of his decisions. Wearing only a poor man's clothing he held on to a blue necklace and he held on to it tightly as he ran. He didn't catch any attention as he looked like a street rat but he is really their king in the streets of Babylon. Many things ran through his mind and decisions that he isn't quite sure if it is right. The whole week he thought only of Farah and all of the things he regretted. He finally came to the conclusion that perhaps they were not meant for each other. He instinctively flinched at the thought of it. Maybe it is destiny that they cannot be together and she is better off without him. He still loved her, and he will never stop loving her. But, it is the cruel fate that he must live with, and she shall roam her home as a bachelorette. Sometimes he wished she would somehow magically remember their love, and she would come running into his arms. He gripped the necklace firmer. Should he continue to chase after a woman that is dead set on distancing herself from him? Or should he focus on his people and his empire, he chose the latter. He stopped on top of higher ground above the marketplace the exact area where Farah is. After scanning the marketplace he spotted her next to two other women. Immediately he began to sweat and panic he wanted to go talk to her. He wanted to stop her and shut her in a room or to at least say goodbye. But, his feet are glued to the ground like a coward. Afraid that he may say something that will make more distance between them. He continued to observe her from afar admiring her beauty while he rubbed the blue necklace between his fingers.

…

Farah took her first steps towards the caravans tentatively and she felt oddly that she is being watched. She turned slightly to scan from behind and her eyes caught a pair of the clearest set of blue eyes hidden partly from a hood. Is that him? He didn't move but kept staring at her and she wanted to speak to ask him to forgive her. But, the words never formulated as she stood there staring at him. Should she go there and talk to him.

"Is something wrong?" Adileh asked as she looked in the direction Farah is looking.

With a final look Farah shook away the stare and turned away to Adileh masking her sadness with a smile. "Nothing." She answered and continued to walk to the caravans with Adileh following behind her.

"Good Morning." Farah greeted as she approached the traders, and at first they tensed up not knowing who is coming to them. Once they saw Farah they began to relax a bit as Farah bowed and they clasped hands.

"Morning." One of the traders said to Farah, and Farah smiled back while she tried to come up with how she is going to ask them.

"I see that you are traders of Panchala." She started trying to make a conversation and they nodded their heads. "Are you going to leave Babylon today to go back to Panchala?" She asked and they looked at her curiously.

"Yes we are leaving, but why is it of any concern of yours?" They asked and Farah cleared her throat.

"Well, I am from Matsya and I was wondering if I can hitch a ride with you." She answered and they again looked at her peculiarly.

"You don't look very Hindustani to me, and seem Persianized." He said as he examined her and she was caught off guard. How could she forget that she wore Persian clothing and followed Persian customs?

"It's a long story, but please can I come with you?" She asked with pleading eyes wondering if they will agree with her as they exchanged looks.

"Well-"

"I have money." She cut him off, and they slowly nodded making her grin in excitement.

"My name is Heer." One of the traders said as he motioned to himself with old tired wrinkly hands. He smiled and even though he is old but when he smiled he seemed to get ten years younger. He then motioned to another person that was significantly younger than him but barred similarities to him. "This is my son, Mahir." Then he pointed to another person that looked completely different than him but equally as old. "And this is Edi, a good friend of mine." He explained and Farah hesitantly greeted all of them.

"I am Farah." She said, as she looked at them and they nodded their approval.

"Beautiful name, I believe it is of foreign origin." Edi commented as Farah smiled back.

"You can travel in my caravan, if you are comfortable with it." Heer explained and Farah nodded dismissively.

"That's fine." She answered, and they motioned to go back to their caravans to leave. Farah turned around and approached Aara, Immediately; Aara gave Farah a hug that almost squeezed all of the air from her lungs. "I'm going to be fine." Farah whispered trying to make Aara calm.

"You say that, but you don't these people. How could you trust them?" She asked as she didn't let go of Farah.

"I don't trust them, but I have faith in myself that I will reach there." Slowly, Aara let go of Farah from the hug. Adileh stood with big worried eyes and the only thing that Farah could do is smile to her giving assurance that she will be fine on the long journey. As she let go of Adileh she carefully scanned each inch of Babylon from her view. She looked for that mysterious stranger with blue eyes, but she couldn't find him anymore. Every structure, the smell, and the entire scenery are a memorable foot print in her mind. The first steps to the caravan of Heer seemed like centuries and filled of terrible scenarios, and her breathing became heavy.

"Will we ever see you again?" Adileh asked, and Farah honestly didn't know if she will ever come back to Babylon. She looked at Babylon again and a knowing smile came to her dusky face. In her heart she knew that Babylon is sort of her home. "Farewell, Adileh and Aara.. It was a pleasure meeting the both of you." Although they seemed disappointed by the answer they nodded their understanding to Farah's answer. Heer's hand extended through the caravan for the Farah to take, and with one last look at Babylon she gingerly took his hand.


	8. The Immortal

_A/N: Hey! Got another chapter, hope everyone likes it! I feel like I should tell you guys that I have posted a story for Prison Break, anybody watch that show? If you do please read my story __ But, I haven't gotten any reviews for that story so this story will remain as my FIRST priority and don't worry I don't think it's going to change soon. Please read and review. Remember to enjoy it!_

_Definitions: _

_Immortals: A special unit of the Persian Army that is supposed to be the most well trained and equipped soldiers. Also I tried my best to describe traditional Immortal dressing._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Persia**

Chapter 7: The Immortal

The sand under the caravan seemed endless and the sun felt like it will never come down from the sky. But when it did, the nights would be so cold that she never stopped shivering while she laid on the cold wooden floor of the caravan. Now, it's during the day and all she saw is sand, camels, and the searing heat of the dessert sun. Her throat and lips felt dry and cracked up as she tried to moisturize them by licking her lips. Water is scarce during these long journeys and she didn't want to take more water than the other three people traveling. Most of the time Farah kept to herself in thought and wonderment of what lay before her. However, she found that the people she traveled with were quite friendly and humorous beings. Their presence became quite pleasant to her, and she often cooked food for them at night while they worked all day with the camels. They were simple traders and had no interest in politics or kingdoms they just wanted to feed their families. Farah picked out the white jasmine from her hair and held it in her hand with delight. She loved jasmines and had missed it so much over the past years. When she got this jasmine from Mahir, who had developed a small crush on her, she immediately thought of her days as a princess. The smell of a jasmine is never forgettable and the fragrance of it is said to attract the most honest man of all suitors. Often she would bathe in a hundred jasmines thrice a day when she was a princess. An uncustomary smirk appeared on her fragile face as she thought about how spoiled she was. She felt the tips of the jasmine and they were so smooth yet very thick like it had a velvety quality to it. There are five petals in a jasmine and each one looked unique from one another. The petals would either be covered halfway in yellow or only a small marginal, after observing the flower she placed it back in her hair. A jasmine brings the most _honest_ suitor, how did that turn out for her. Is the Prince really an honest suitor for her, but there are so many questions that she needs answers to. That Prince is the same man that destroyed her kingdom, and her life. But, he is also the same man that saved her life on multiple occasions, and treated her with so much compassion. He speaks of this love, but what love is this. She closed her eyes and sighed while laying back in the caravan; it's going to be a long journey. Too much time to think and thinking is exactly what she didn't want to do because if she does think then she will never come to any decisions. "Arjun." She whispered to herself, and that one name made her decision. She would not think of suitors and love when she arrives home, the first thing she will do is honor Arjun's memory by returning his belongings to his family. When she thought of it an ache appeared in her heart about returning his belongings. Those belongings are the only things she has left from Arjun. In reality she didn't want to let go of those belongings because she didn't want to let go of Arjun. Maybe, it is Arjun that is still blocking the Prince and her from being together then the tears began to come down her cheeks. The Prince begged her to forget about him like he did with Kaileena, but even he knew that he was lying. He didn't forget Kaileena, and he can't because he still blames himself for her death. At the same time Farah felt that Kaileena caused Arjun's death and one time she told the Prince this. They argued that day, and again they didn't talk for weeks afterwards because of the arguments. It was obvious that the Prince still had feelings for Kaileena even though he denied it. Strangely, Farah never felt betrayed by it in fact Farah felt it was perfectly fine for him to have feelings for her. But, the Prince couldn't accept it and wouldn't hear of Arjun anymore. A rumbling outside caused Farah to stop her contemplations and pay attention to her surroundings. She pulled the draping curtain from the caravan to see what is going on. Heer, Edi, and Mahir were still riding the slow camels but there is something amiss about them. They seemed to be very alert and quiet all of a sudden while looking in a certain direction. Farah followed their eye trail to a lone horse rider on the side of a sand hill. Why do they seem so scared? Reaching out her arm she nudged Edi by the shoulder and he almost jumped out of robe. "Relax." Farah said to calm him down as he caught his breath again.

"Oh, it's you Farah." He whispered, and Farah wondered why he is whispering.

"What's going on?" She asked curiously, and he looked over his shoulder at the lone horseman as if he is going to rush at him.

"It's an Immortal." He said dryly and Farah's eyes widened at the statement. Usually Immortals travel in pacts and are dispatched only in times of war. Why is there a lone Immortal in the middle of nowhere with full gear on.

"Do you know why he is out there?" She asked as she squinted to get a better look at the Immortal, and she remembers from her time in Babylon that even the Prince trained with the Immortals so they have to be formidable.

"I suggest for you to close the drapes on the caravan." He said in a concerned voice, and Farah looked at him in confusion. "These Immortals if they are not out in war they are probably out here to gather supplies for a upcoming war which can be anything from food to…" He ended by giving the gesture that she maybe can be considered "supplies" for the Immortals. Without much protest Farah simply nodded and pulled the drape again.

…

Nothing much happened after the incident as Farah waited the precaution quietness of the crew to be over as they passed by the Immortal. However, that idea seemed to halt when the caravans stopped and she heard galloping hooves near her. She can only guess that it is the Immortal stopping them, but why would he approach simple trading caravans.

"Halt!" The Immortal commanded and the caravans didn't dare move an inch as the Immortal stopped in front of the caravans. "I am looking for a woman." He said bluntly, and Farah had to wonder what he actually meant by that statement.

"Well, we don't have any women in our caravans. It's just me, my son, and Edi." Heer lied for her, and Farah bit her lip. She knew that if he is caught lying to an Immortal it could cost him his life. Farah anxiously waited for a while and didn't dare peak out of the caravan as the Immortal became quiet.

"Show me your flag." He commanded after the silence, and Farah grew more curious. "Panchala." He said, and Farah could only guess again of why he would need the flag of the caravans. "You are the only Panchala caravans to come to Babylon at this moment." He continued and she could tell that the traders nodded their heads in agreement.

"Yes." Edi assured the Immortal, and then she heard something that terrified her. The Immortal had pulled out his sword and the traders gasped in fear.

"Then you definitely have the woman." He declared as he got off his horse to approach the caravans closer, and Farah can tell that the traders were terrified. But, at the same time Farah hoped that they wouldn't rat her out to the Immortal. How did he know which caravan she is in? Or rather what does he want from her?

"No no, we don't. It's just…just us three." Heer said again in utter terror as the Immortal pointed his sword at him.

"You know lying to me is against the law in Babylonian land." He threatened Heer, and he shuddered with his hands up in surrender.

"Please." Edi pleaded, but the Immortal wasn't having any of it as he turned on him to back hand him across the face that laid Edi straight on the ground clutching his cheek.

"Give me the woman!" He demanded again from Heer.

"It must be a misunderstanding." Heer replied again, and the Immortal shook his head while Farah prayed that he wouldn't strike Heer. Then he turned on Mahir grabbed him by the collar to hold his neck with his forearm around it making Mahir shriek in terror.

"No!" Heer protested, as the Immortal placed his sword against Mahir's neck.

"There is no misunderstanding of the name, trader." The Immortal said as the sword inched closer to Mahir's neck.

"Please-"

"Give me the woman or he gets it!" He yelled at Heer, and Farah couldn't take it anymore. If Mahir gets hurt she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. Before, the Immortal could say anymore threats to Heer, Farah popped out of the caravan.

"I'm here." She said as she looked upon the Immortal for the first time without a drape blocking him. Farah couldn't lie but he looked very intimating because of his demeaning very tall stature, with his gruffly salt and pepper beard. He wore long tan and dark purple robes that covered his finely crafted scale armor that Farah knew her arrows will never penetrate. He kept his shield strapped to the side of his shoulder, large daggers stashed in his boots, and a short spear across his back. But, the one thing that gave away his Immortal status is his headdress. It resembled a towel covering his ears, forehead, and neck but yet had gold adorning it. All Immortals are always required to wear headdresses such as this one. After seeing Farah the Immortal grinned in satisfaction. He roughly pushed Mahir down to the ground and quickly walked to Farah. She thought about picking up her bow more than once during the whole ordeal, but she knew she couldn't take down an Immortal on her own. When he walked in front of her she didn't hesitate and kept a steady eye contact with him even though she was scared to death. He abruptly turned around and started to walk back to his horse.

"Come here." He demanded as he walked, but Farah didn't budge. Then when he noticed that Farah wasn't moving he turned his heels back to her. "Come with me or I will not hesitate to kill your caravan friends." He threatened, and the threat was so cold that it caused her to shiver. Slowly, she took steps towards the Immortal. But, before she walked to the Immortal she walked to Heer wanting to apologize to him.

"I'm sorry." She said in sympathy to Heer as he shook away her apology.

"Don't be, it's not your-" He never finished his sentence as he was knocked out cold by the Immortal's fist that left Farah in disbelief.

"Why did you-"

"Woman! I told you to come with me. When I say come with me, I mean right now!" He screamed back at her and grabbed her wrist. Farah winced at the tight grip on her wrist which brought her surges of pain.

"Let go of me!" She struggled to free herself but it was futile as the more powerful Immortal easily hauled her over his shoulder. He hopped back on his horse with Farah strapped across shoulder and road off into the dessert.


	9. Durga

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Much love 3 Well, if you read my last chapter you have learned not to pick up mysterious strangers. I know I may seem like I am getting carried away with Farah, don't worry plenty of Farah/Prince time later…and Prince will be getting his own thingy too while Farah is out on her own. I did some research on Ancient Indian society around 500 BC and found out that women were treated equally, however at 500 BC things started to change for women. But, that's all I got so everything else would be my imagination. Also the Matsya Kingdom is associated with fish so I put a fish as their symbol. Flashbacks are in italics. PLEASE REVIEW&ENJOY!_

_Definitions:_

_Durga: Hindu goddess of protection._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Persia.**

Chapter 8: Durga

The sand under her sandals burned her feet and there are hardly any breezes to blanket away the stubborn sun. Sweat became dried as the heat turned it into vapors, and mirages of water would come up every once in a while. She felt so thirsty that it seemed like sand is stuck in her throat, and she constantly swallowed spit to get that gritty feeling out of her throat. The sound of splashing water immediately took her out of the zombie like trance she was in. Her sore feet ran through the sand with speed she never she had. Within seconds she stood in front of a spring, and she didn't know if she pushed her way through but she didn't care. Instantly she submerged her head in the cool water tasting the refreshing water and abolished her quench for thirst. Her hands unhitched her hair tie and allowed her dark hair sprawl across the water. As soon as she felt that she is replenished she steadily raised her head from the soothing water. Her knees burned because they were on the ground and she got sand all over her new armor. She grimaced as she got up and dusted the sand off to show the bright blue color of her armor. The gold bangles on her forearm jingled as she dusted her clothes off, and she bent down to pick up her prized steel spear. She marveled at the spear she had purchased years ago from a foreign trader of the North West. This same spear had served her in many wars, and it always still held that glimmer of sharpness that came with it. Instinctively she checked her back to make sure her bow and arrows are not missing. Then her purse, jewelry including a diamond studded belly ring that is exposed by her belly cut armor. Finally she checked the side of her arm if she still had her badge, and sure enough she still she still had it. She sighed as she touched the golden emblem of the Empire of Matsya remembering how long she had served this army. She's young hardly five years to the age of thirty but she has served the army since she was sixteen. As young as she looks her experience with war and fighting could carry her through ages. She picked up her canteen carrying it over to the spring so she could have water after she leaves this oasis. Two days till Babylon she thought, it's strange that a soldier from a faraway kingdom would come to Babylon, but she has specific instructions. The Rani herself had given her the order to find her missing sister. But, it seems that it would be impossible to find her amongst thousands of people. Even with the odds against her she hardly cared how long it would take to find the Rani's sister. Recently, she barely ever wanted to come home anymore after the sudden changes to the army recruitment policies. A new law was established to outlaw all recruitment of women in the army, and a lot of women in the army were cut. She felt that she will be cut any moment from the army, and wondered why the sudden changes to policy. Maybe it's the new Vizier she thought, and she also had her family nagging her to retire and marry a suitor. She sighed again as she put water in her canteen wondering when will everyone stop bothering her. Something from afar flashed in her eyes as she cringed from the light emitting from it. It kept flashing from the bright shine of the sun, and she covered the beams of the sun from her eyes. The item for no particular reason kept her attention as she recognized it as gold. And she could swear that it's a fish emblem, the same emblem she had on her arm for the army of Matsya. Unconsciously she walked to the flashing glare away from the spring to a bunch of caravans. She noticed that it came from a trading caravan of Panchala traders, and she wondered why would Panchalas carry a Matsya emblem.

"Halt!" She ordered the Panchala caravans as the traders poked their heads out to see the soldier, and one of the older traders came out to greet her. Her eyes surveyed the caravans finding the source of the flashing golden emblem.

"What may-"

"Give me that." She cut him off dismissively as she sternly pointed to the emblem that hung out from an overstuffed bag. The trader didn't move instead looking at her with puzzlement, and she glared at him pulling out her spear in front of him.

"Hand it to me now!" She ordered aggressively as she stomped the spear on the ground and he immediately scurried over to give her the emblem. As soon as she felt the cold golden emblem in her hands she knew it is a Matsya emblem as she traced the engraving of a big fish. "How did you get this?" She asked as she looked up at the trader.

"It's a long story-"

"Don't make excuses Panchala!" She warned, and he gulped in fear.

"It's from a woman that was traveling with us." He confessed and she arched her eyebrow she didn't remember any woman soldiers being dispatched in Persian land.

"Where is she?" She asked, and he shook his head.

"I don't know-"Without another word she struck out her slender hand and grabbed his Adam's apple squeezing it till he is on his knees.

"I grow tired of your games." She said in deathly calmness as he began to sweat furiously.

"She was kidnapped by an Immortal!" He said through squeaks.

"Why?"

"I don't know!-"He screamed as she squeezed his Adam's apple more. "She…she wanted to go to Matsya from Babylon!" He explained then she loosened her grip as she thought of about this mysterious person.

"What is her name?" She demanded.

"Farah." He breathed, and the name struck her in place like lightning. Could it be? Is this the Rani's lost sister? "And that's her bag." He said as he pointed to it, and she let go of the pitiful man to fall on the ground.

"Give me the bag, and tell me which direction they went."

…

She felt his hairy wet chest on the side of her head, and at first she protested against it, but after a few attempts to escape which resulted in her being bound on top of a horse. Suddenly being pressed up against his chest didn't seem so bad anymore. If he didn't kill her then surely the heat will kill them both as they both were exhausted from the sun. He leapt off the horse onto the sand with a poof sound like he stomped on flour.

"Get off the horse." He bluntly ordered and she looked down at the ropes coiled around her hands then looked at him in confusion. "You can still get off the horse." He said reading her thoughts. She cautiously looked down and then slowly slid off the horse trying not to slip. He put a firm hand on her shoulder to make sure she didn't try to escape, again. Then he quickly undid the bondage while still keeping an eye on the frisky woman. Instinctively, as soon as he undid the ropes she retracted her hands and began to massage the soreness away. As he picked off equipment and supplies from the horse Farah continuously glared at him in anger. A wisp of sand clouded her vision then she realized that the only thing she sees is sand. They are in the middle of nowhere, why don't they just travel to an oasis or city for camp. She was interrupted from her thoughts by an out stretched arm offering her a canteen filled with water which she denied. But, the Immortal isn't going to take no for an answer as he shoved it again in her face with a threatening look. "You can take it now or I will force it down your throat." He threatened and she reluctantly snatched the canteen from his hand knowing very well that he will do it. Farah gulped down the refreshing water and it felt guiltily pleasurable. She removed the canteen from her lips and handed it to him while wiping her mouth. He took the canteen and went back to unpacking his supplies. Farah became more and more confused by his actions, he seemed so dangerous yet he kept her alive for unknown reasons.

"Why?" She blurted out and he tilted his head towards her as she stared at him trying to figure out his motives.

"What do you mean?" He asked bluntly.

"Why are you doing this?" She continued gaining strength against the intimidating Immortal.

"It is of none of your concern woman." He answered resuming his work at unpacking and Farah wanted to punch him in the face. Does he really think she is going to blindly travel with him? Instinctively she reached for her bow that would be attached to her back but she realized that she had left it in her bag back with the traders.

"You are unbelievable!" She screamed in defiance as she turned away and within a split second she decided to make a run for it. She dashed with all her strength trying not to look back, and ran as fast as her feet could carry her. Racing through the wind made the sand around her fly into the air masking her escape. She hoped that he didn't pursue her or at least didn't know where she is as the sand did a pretty good job for a shield. But, as she ran and ran the more she realized that all she sees is sand and the sun. Not even sand dunes, and then she became very attuned by how fast she is going. Soon she began to take labored gasps and her legs became sore from running. She started to look over her shoulder constantly bordering paranoia that the Immortal is right behind her. The sun turned into her enemy again as it sent her through swoons from the heat. Her vision became blotted with black spots and her head felt light headed. Feeling that if she didn't stop running then she will indeed die within a few minutes. She stopped running and immediately collapsed on the gritty sand floor with the heat still hovering above her ready to drain every bit of energy from her body. Then she heard the familiar sound of galloping hooves on the sandy floor and she knew that he is near. With the little strength she had she tried to get up from her feet. However, she kept falling down to her knees digging deep into the sandy ground. The sound of the gallops came closer and closer, Farah felt helpless as she got on all fours then started to crawl across the sand. But, it didn't help as the hot sand burned her hands and legs within a few feet she gave up. The sound of the gallops stopped and she knew he is here but she hardly knew as she slipped in and out of consciousness only to hear him talk.

"There was a reason why I chose the middle of nowhere to set up camp." He said as he got off his horse. "Things would be so much easier if you would just comply with me." Then everything started to fade away from her consciousness.

…

She lazily opened her eyes to the sky blanketed with bright stars in the midst of darkness. The chilly wind smacked against her lips making her shiver. But, the thick blanket on her body kept her whole body from freezing. The last thing Farah remembered was being on the dessert floor ready to die, and now she heard the crackle of fire. She slowly took off the blanket and surveyed her surroundings. She's in a makeshift tent made of hides of different kinds of animals, and noticed a flap with a tiny opening to let in air. Farah poked her head out to see the Immortal sitting by the fire cooking soup. For the first time Farah noticed in the light of the fire that this Immortal had hazel eyes, and is quite handsome actually. She shook away the thoughts, and decided to come out of the tent to confront the Immortal.

"You're awake." He greeted sarcastically while still looking at the fire.

"What is the whole purpose of this? Do you want to kill me?" She asked frustrated that every attempt she has tried to get free has failed and she doesn't know why it's happening.

"If I wanted to kill you then I would have done it a long time ago." He said again still dripping with sarcasm as he shifted to the side picking up a bowl. "Here." He said offering her a bowl of soup, and Farah took the hot bowl. "Good girl." He commented, however Farah had different plans as she gripped the bowl tightly then quickly flicked her hand throwing the hot soup all over the Immortal. To her surprise the Immortal didn't even flinch when the soup touched his clothes. "You're not getting another one, woman." He said still paying attention to the soup, and Farah felt surges of anger rush through her body. Of course he couldn't get burned because he had layers of armor on under that robe. Out of sheer anger and frustration Farah threw the bowl on the ground then stomped on it. "Woman-"

"My name is not woman!" She screamed through the top of her lungs now not trying to figure things out anymore. This time she caught his attention as he looked at her glazed over eyes. "My name-"

"Is Farah." He finished for her still hinted with sarcasm and she looked at him with wide eyes.

"How-"

"If you would just comply-"

"I will not comply until I find out what's going on!" She screamed back, and she expected him to be angry but instead he looked like he felt sorry for her. But why? She wondered.

"This for your own benefit-"

"I will choose what is beneficial for me-"

"Fine." He cut her off as he pulled out something from his pocket and Farah at first thought he is going to kill her. But, he threw something that she caught her hands and she couldn't believe what she saw in her hands. Impossible she thought, as she looked at the finely pure blue beads woven into an amulet with a distinctive shield in the middle, the sign of Lady Durga. Farah opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead she felt her knees buckle and memories floated through her mind like a string that she tried to catch. She remembered when she received the precious gift:

_"Wear this." Arjun pulled out the necklace from his neck and placed it on Farah's palm. She looked at the necklace with complete awe. The necklace is in the shape of a shield studded with blue diamonds, gems, and white pearls. _

_"It's beautiful." She scrutinized while rubbing it with her thumb._

_"This necklace is said to be created by Lady Durga's own hand maidens. It's supposed to offer you protection." He explained and Farah looked up at him. "I think it works, because there were plenty of times when I could have been seriously injured during our time here, and I never seem to get badly hurt." Arjun added. _

_"Then why are you giving it to me. You need more protection than me." She said as she thrust the necklace to him, but Arjun waved it away. _

_"As long as I don't have to see you suffer wounds again, I'll be fine. Plus I got a dozen more charms." He said trying to convince her to put the necklace on, and she did. "It suits you." He purred, and she blushed. _

_"Thank you." She said while examining the necklace on her neck._

She remembered! That damned necklace that saved her and not him! Why didn't she just force him to take it back, the tears began to fall from her bewildered eyes as she stared at the necklace in trance lost in the past. She also remembered when she threw the necklace away shattering it into a million pieces never to be reassembled again. It seemed like yesterday that those smooth beads were forcefully slipped from her hands into the cold concrete of the Babylonian streets. But, here it is in her hands once more. It couldn't be, after the killing the Vizier she looked for the necklace again because she regretted losing it but she couldn't find. Farah pitifully gazed up at the Immortal who stood with sympathy in his eyes and Farah didn't know what to say.

"How….how..when?" She tried desperately to ask him how did he get this item but the words couldn't form. "Who?"


	10. Hindrance

_A/N: I am sorry I didn't update in a while….got side tracked a little! However, I did do research on the Achaemenid Empire during 500 BC, and throughout this time it was ruled by Darius I of Persia. I read that during his reign there was a Babylonian Revolt which involved several cities that he had to go to suppress each one. So, I am going to use this part of history somewhat in the story, but not completely mostly it's going to be fictitious. And the Prince's name is no longer going to be known as "The Prince" since technically he is no longer a prince therefore he will be known as "Shah or The Shah" which just means king. I am not going to use the name "Dastan" because I just think the movie hardly represented the Prince or the storyline in the game. But the Prince does have a name which is "Sharaman" the same name as his father probably fitting because fathers usually name their sons after themselves. Please review and enjoy! _

_A/N: Definitions:_

_Tigris River: A historic river that runs through southern Turkey to Iraq._

_Hydarnes: Is a historical Persian Immortal who was known to participate in the Perso-Greek wars. Also I think his name means "The Ripper" in Persian or maybe that was his nickname. And the Immortal in this story is not going to be the same as the historical one._

_Assyrians: Original ancient people of Mesopotamia, which is around the Euphrates –Tigris rivers modern day Iraq, north east Syria, south east Turkey, and south west Iran. They were once together with the Akkadian Empire but then split into Assyrians and Babylonians/Akkadians. _

_Ashur: The capital of the Assyrian Empire in modern day Iraq._

_Dareios: Persian for maintaining well._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Persia.**

Chapter 9: Hindrance

"Where did you get this?" She managed to utter as her knees dug deep in the sand while gripping the amulet for dear life. The sensation of the cold beads in her hands once again felt overwhelming to Farah as the memories flowed through her mind. She really wants, no needs to know how or who gave this precious item to a man like this Immortal? However, when she peaked up the Immortal stood towering over her with a mystified expression. Farah wondered what he is thinking at the moment or what does he know, and then she felt the amulet again in her hands. "Please." She pleaded looking into his eyes asking him to show mercy. He looked down shifting his head in deep thought, and Farah sighed while looking at the amulet again knowing all too well what the next words are going to be.

"It does not matter." He said while looking away from her and Farah could have guessed that he was going to say that as she continued to look down without acknowledging his words. She felt the sand stick on her lips as it blew past them making her hair fly with it. Farah did not want to fight him anymore, and she felt so defeated by him. But, she knew that if she showed that she is defeated then he will roll all over her. She needs to pick up her courage and show no fear to him. From the tingling feelings inside the pits of her gut she summoned strength and power to have valor against him.

"You know." She whispered then looked up at him in his hazel eyes. "I will not leave this spot until you give me an answer." She threatened and after she said it she noticed for the first time that in his eyes he felt defeated too. He didn't want to fight anymore either, and she could tell by the sympathetic tint in his eyes pleading her to stop making things difficult for him.

"I can't tell you." He squeezed out of his gritted teeth as he looked away again and Farah firmly gripped the amulet for courage. "Just accept-"

"I can't until you tell me who you are!" She screamed standing looking straight at him. He no longer looked scary or intimidating to her, but in fact he looked like a scared little child. She could see it in his awe struck expression as it waivered from anger to fear.

"Step away or I'll-"

"You will do what?" She whispered harshly now inches away from him. She knew that the sudden demonstration of fierceness caught him off guard, but he soon recuperated narrowing his eyes at her as he tried to seem threatening again. They stared at each other for a while trying to break one another. His hazel orbs flared into her dark brown ones as his knuckles turned white from the fists at his sides.

"Alright, I'll tell you some things." He finally said trying to break the intensity between them, but Farah hardly softened her visage. "I have direct orders from a person that is of higher authority than me to safely take you to your home." He explained and Farah loosened her intenseness wondering if that is it, if true then he is here to help her. "Then I am instructed to take you back to Babylon after you visit your family." There it goes, she thought. She knew there had to be a catch with what he is going to do and she narrowed her eyes at him. "And that." He said as he pointed at the amulet. "Was given to me to show you that I have genuine intentions." He finished and Farah is left wondering if that is all and what about this mysterious person. She opened her mouth to ask and he interrupted her. "Before you ask me, who my superior is. I am not telling who it is nor am I telling why." He answered for her, and although she felt dissatisfied with the information she sort of felt secured by it.

"This is ridiculous." She spat as she turned away from him to think about her situation.

"Yes it is." He agreed with a little sarcasm embedded in his voice. "But now at least we can move on." He said that with genuine, Farah noted. She had to give him respect since he isn't as cold hearted she first thought. Now, that she knew what his intentions are she felt the immediate relief coming over her tired body. "We are coming close to the Tigris." Farah hardly paid attention to his words as she thought about the mysterious person who had ordered the Immortal, wait what's the name of this Immortal? Farah turned to face him as he began to dig through supplies in his pack. "What's your name?" She asked, and he looked at her again in confusion.

"What?" He asked.

"What's your name?" She asked growing impatient.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because it's common courtesy!" She yelled irritation clearly emitted in her voice.

"I'm not telling you." Farah growled in frustration as she threw her hands on her hips, does everything have to be a fight this guy? She was about to snap back when he interrupted her. "Hydarnes." He caught her completely off guard.

"What?" She blurted out.

"Hydarnes!" He yelled back.

…

The delicately sun tanned woman clad scantily by a thin transparent blanket reclined next to him as he watched her breath in and out. Her infinitely long black hair has spread itself across to the other side of the bed and covered his chest. The smell of all kinds of ointments and sensuous fragrances filled the sunny room. She felt so warm to him that it felt like she gave off an aura that would warm him up too. He felt so warm that beads of sweat covered his chest and made his hair damp. However, he dared not move to wipe away the sweat because it would wake her up. She stirred awake anyway as her beautiful emerald eyes slowly opened to see him. A tingling feeling erupted all over his body when she opened her eyes, and he couldn't help but grin. He began to rub her soft neck making her smile also.

"My Prince." She whispered, and the words felt so good to him. He longed for a woman to say his title like she did. If only she was his wife then he would experience the same feeling every day in the morning to wake up to a beautiful willing wife. A woman that agreed to everything he did, and never doubted his actions.

"My..." He stopped himself in mid-sentence as he realized what he was going to say. She looked at him now with awareness. Love? Should he label her with such a unique feeling, but she is not an ordinary woman. "Dear." He covered it up, and she knew that he did but she seemed to have accepted as she closed her eyes again.

"I have to go." She said sleepily, and he instinctively flinched as the words left her full lips. He didn't want the warm feeling to leave.

"You don't have to leave." He said through clenched teeth and she dreamily grinned. She leaned over and pressed her pleasant lips on his. He guiltily captured them, and refused to let them go but she forcefully removed herself from him.

"Tell me will you ever forget me?" She asked him, and he cringed his eyes not understanding what she meant. Then her perfect body became transparent and a sense of urgency overcame him.

"What's going on?" He yelled in confusion as he reached out to her and his hand went through her transparent body. A look of surrealism came over him as he looked at his hand in disbelief.

"Don't forget me!" She screamed as she instantly turned into sand in front of his horrified eyes.

…

"Kaileena!" He screamed as he sat up in his bed breathing fast with sweat coving his bare chest and face. A look of fear on his face as he looked to the side of his bed noticing that there is no sand. He slammed himself back on the bed then he blew a sigh of relief as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. It's all a dream, he thought. The chilly night winds blew which made him cold as he stared at the ceiling. What's the meaning of this? He snapped out of it when he heard a couple of knocks on his door.

"Shah Sharaman! Please it's urgent!" He wondered what the fuss is all about as he lazily got off his bed and robed himself. The loud knocks on the continued as he grudgingly took long strides to the door.

"I'm coming." He muttered under his breath then opened the door to see the messenger almost tumble over. Quickly, the short plump messenger stood straight when he saw the king standing in front of him.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt you my majesty." He apologized as he bowed his head and Sharaman rubbed his eyes from sleepiness. "But this is urgent!"

"What is?"

"The Assyrians are assembling against us!" Sharaman's eyes became wide from astonishment, how could he have been so blind to not see such a gathering.

"Impossible." He muttered to himself as he looked down to think about to do. However, he didn't have time to think when he heard the loud shouts of anger outside his own palace.

"We can use force against them-"

"We are not going to hurt them!" He sneered at the man, and the messenger cowered over as he noticed that the Shah didn't seem so pleased at the moment. And, indeed Sharaman didn't feel pleased at all by the sudden outburst from the Assyrians. It's a difficult time in Persia, a time where unity is needed. He looked down at the pitiful messenger eyeing him with frustration rimming his eyes. "Anything else you want to tell me?" He asked, and the messenger shook his head feverously. With a disgusted sigh the Shah left his chambers to meet his advisors. He wondered why the sudden need for a revolt from the Assyrians; it seemed that the Assyrians were happy under his rule. The loud clamor of angry voices in high tones caught his attention when he approached his throne room. All five of his advisors argued with one another on what action to take against the treacherous Assyrians. Fingers covered with colorful silk clothing pointed in every direction blaming another person. He wondered if being the ruler of this kingdom is really going to be this tough such as going through an economic depression, rebuilding an empire, and suppressing revolts. It all seemed too much for him, and he pondered how his father had managed to tame everything. "Enough." Once the word came out of his mouth the advisors immediately halted in their tracks as they realized that their ruler is in the same room. Simultaneously, each advisor old or young fell to their knees bowing to the young monarch. Honestly, he didn't want to be bowed to at this moment from his advisors, he needs their advice right now. He dismissed the bow with a wave of his hand and the advisors stood up, but they still kept their eyes glued to the ground.

"How long has it been since the revolt of the Assyrians began?" He demanded with a booming voice that echoed across the room sending shivers down the spines of the advisors.

"We...we just received word-"

"How long has it been!" He demanded with a threatening edge in his voice to the stuttering advisors.

"It's been days." One of the advisors said and the Shah's eyes became wide from shock, days? It's been days since the Assyrians revolted and only now he is receiving news of it. How did this happen? The advisors are supposed to keep track of everything. Anger fueled him as he realized how much of a failure his advisors are and they sensed the disapproval also.

"And I only found out now?" He asked with obvious sarcasm in his voice and all the advisors gulped in fear.

"We just-"

"It's been days! You are supposed to keep track of everything that goes around in this kingdom!"

"I know my duties my lord, but the unrest of the changing economy-"

"No excuses!" He growled at the lead advisor and the scared advisor stepped away from the scowling Shah. He looked at the rest of the advisors and saw the eminent fear in their eyes from their ruler. The Shah didn't want to be an intimating or angry ruler, but its times like these that he had to show his aggressive side so that another mistake like this won't happen again. His blood flow started to cool down and his breathing became easier as he relaxed a bit. "Is there anything else I should know?" He asked with the anger leaving in his voice.

"It seems the Elamites are also revolting." The blood flow and hard breathing came right back to him and it seemed like his head would explode any minute.

"What is the use of keeping you if you are not going to tell me anything!" He yelled again as his knuckles turned white from his fist.

"My lord-

"Get out of my sight! I don't want any of you in my court anymore!" He bellowed at the advisor, and at first the advisors didn't move believing that he didn't mean it. Until they saw his furious red face, and anger in his eyes. "Leave!" He demanded again, and the advisors scurried out as fast as they could knowing that the Shah won't give them another warning. The Shah didn't even pay attention to the advisors anymore as they ran out of the court. He sighed in frustration and ran his fingers through his tangled hair. What to do? He thought to himself, its seems that everyone else in his kingdom failed to do anything. The only person that can do anything is himself and he only trusted himself in keeping this empire intact from now on. The guard near the doorway caught the Shah's eye as he gestured the guard to come to him. "I want half of the Immortals to come with me to Ashur, and tell them to meet me outside the gates within a half hour. The other half of the Immortals I want to keep a lockdown on Babylon tell them to not allow any more visitors to Babylon nor anyone to leave Babylon." He ordered, and the guard nodded then began to walk to the door. "Also, tell Dareios to meet me outside the Babylonian gates too!" He said after he thought further about who will take over the Babylon when he left, if there is one person he can trust it is Dareios. When the guard left to tell the Immortals the Shah wanted to slouch over his throne. But, he knew that his sleepiness should be put on check because he needs to come up with a plan to subdue his kingdom. Clad only in a finely crafted robe he felt the first chills of the early morning winds from outside. A half hour is all he has to make all of his plans, but first he needs to get into his armor once again after so many months of not wearing any kind of armor. It's going to be long a journey, and he could only wonder what is going on with Farah at the moment.


	11. Knowledge

_A/N: O gosh I am sorry! You guys have the right to throw rocks at me! I am sorry that it took me super-duper long to update this chapter. I have been having some issues lately that simply just made me ignore this story. I also lost some of my passion to write this story, and made me wonder if it's interesting or not. But, I am not going to let down my readers or future readers that may stumble upon this story and find out that it's not complete. So I will continue to update hopefully much faster than this. Please read and enjoy and don't kill me._

_Definitions:_

_Mosul: A town on the banks of the Tigris River._

_Trojans: People from Troy which is Modern day Turkey._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Persia**

Chapter 10: Knowledge

He placed a gruff hand over his eyes to block the glaring rays of the sun, but his eyebrows still knitted together. Impatiently he waited outside the gates on his well-trained stallion wearing the armor he didn't wear for so many months. He inhaled the early morning air as he thought about the many memories that came along with this armor. Memories that he wished to forget….no on second thought he didn't want to forget those memories because if he did it would mean that he would forget all his hard work and Kaileena. He halted his thoughts when he heard hooves approaching him. The Shah lifted his eyes to behold the man who stood before him. Dareios, the Shah smirked when he thought of him. This Immortal had trained with him when he was younger, often bested him in hand to hand combat. Now, the brave Dareios is under his tutelage as a commander.

"Your majesty, you have asked for my services?" He asked, and the Shah nodded.

"Yes, it seems rebellions are sprouting within my empire. I am going to personally handle the Assyrians, and Elamites." He explained to his trusted commander as he unconsciously gripped a pouch he always kept attached to his trousers. However, when he squeezed the pouch he realized to his horror that it's empty. His heart stopped, and breathing became difficulty as he kept squeezing the pouch hoping that it will show up. His mind reeled backwards, he lost Farah's necklace! He tried to calm himself while trying to remember if he left it somewhere. Then he noticed that Dareios is still waiting for his command, and he cleared his throat. "That means I'm leaving Babylon and putting you in charge. I want you to keep this place air tight about news spreading into the city. Make sure to stop all trades, nobody should be allowed to leave, and nobody is allowed to come inside the city." He finished, but he hardly focused on the order as he kept trying to remember where he put the necklace. "Got it?" He asked, and Dareios.

"Yes, your majesty." He bowed and left. The Shah chewed his bottom lip as he turned away from Dareios to stare out to the horizon. Maybe it fell somewhere, he felt guilty that he lost her necklace but he had to shake the guilt away because right now he has other problems to take care of.

…

Farah fiddled with the blue necklace she wore with one hand, and her other hand is clasped firmly by Hydarnes's hand as he dragged her along the busy marketplace. At first she protested holding hands with him, but he swiftly reminded her who is in charge. With a groan she tried to keep up with the Immortal's long quick strides. It hardly peaked morning when Hydarnes shook her awake, and Farah didn't understand why he hastily rode to the city called Mosul. The Immortal is calm and calculating but Farah spotted him looking behind them more than once. He is obviously running from someone, but whom? Who could make an Immortal run and hide? Unless, this Immortal isn't really an Immortal….she instinctively squeezed the necklace around her neck. No, he has to be a real Immortal, no other person could do the feats he does. But, the person that gave him the necklace has to be somebody that knew her well enough to know why the necklace is important. The only person she could think of is the Shah, but what if someone else is paying attention to her? What if the Vizier is back? A shiver ran down her spine when she thought of the wretched old man, no he is dead. But, the doubt has already taken a hold in her heart. She shook her head; she needs to stop thinking about it. Instead she focused on the marketplace in Mosul and it vaguely reminded her of the one in Babylon. Except, there are more Persians that live in this city, and some people she never seen in her life called Trojans. Hydarnes nudged her and she was pulled from her thoughts to stare at the back of the Immortal's head. She smelled the salt in the wind and knew they were in a port. Still holding her hand Hydarnes walked to every sailor asking when they are crossing the Tigris.

"Well, there are two ships leaving tomorrow for Ecbatana. One in the morning, and the other at midday." The sailor explained, and Hydarnes nodded his agreement.

…

She resisted the urge to clutch her lovely spear that is attached to her back when she gazed upon the two leery guards. They stared from her feet to her head, and she held her head up high in confidence. "Are you going to let me inside the city?" She asked impatiently, she had been outside of these gates with the sun burning holes in the back of her head for a while now.

"What is your business here?" One of the guards finally demanded.

"Sight-seeing." She lied as she placed her hands on her hips and the guard arched an eyebrow.

"Where are you from?" He asked still skeptical of her.

"Matsya." She answered truthfully.

"Proof?" She then pulled out the emblem symbol of Matsya from her shirt and held it out for them to look at it.

"Good enough?" She asked as she tucked it away.

"You are a long way from home."

"Like I said, sight-seeing." She sneered then one of the guards moved to open the gate.

"Welcome to Mosul foreigner." She barely heard the guard's words as she gazed upon the small city. She walked through the streets smelling the fresh spices mixed with desert wind while scanning around for any signs of her prey. The trail of the Immoral and Farah are fresh and she knew there is only one reason why they came to Mosul, to cross the Tigris. Immediately, she searched for the docks knowing well that they had already gone there and she hoped that they didn't find any ships to cross with yet. But, when she stepped onto the docks she remembered one thing. That she is a foreigner and perhaps asking about an Immortal may seem fishy to them. She needs information though, and if they do tell the Immortal of her presence then she will be more than ready for him.

….

"Who is she?" Hydarnes whispered as he pointed to a person while gripping her wrist firmly making Farah cringe. She then followed his finger to a lone figure talking to a sailor and from her high vantage point on balcony she could barely make out who it is. Did he really think she could recognize someone from this far away? But, nonetheless she paid close attention to the tall lean woman and curiously wondered who she is. The woman's skin complexion is similar to hers and also the deep blue armor she wore also is native to her homeland. However, Farah couldn't make out the woman's face as she is turned away from her and Farah could only see the waves of long locks cascading down her back. Farah gave a shrug to the frustrated Immortal making him sigh, but he didn't give up. "Look closer, you should know her." He repeated again, and Farah was about to protest until she noticed something the woman carried with her. _The bag!_ Arjun's possessions that she lost when she was taken by Hydarnes. How did she find it? Why does she have it? So many questions whirled in Farah's mind, and she mentally noted that she needs to meet this woman. Till she actually meets this woman, Farah will keep her mouth shut to the Immortal. Farah looked again back to the Immortal and shrugged naively. He took a long time studying Farah's stoic gaze trying to detect if she is hiding something. "Do you recognize the emblem she carries?" He asked intently trying to read her reaction, and honestly Farah never noticed an emblem.

"Emblem?" She asked with wide curious eyes, and Hydarnes growled in irritation.

"Yes, the thing that people use to identify themselves." He whispered harshly.

"I know what an emblem is! I just didn't see one on her." She huffed back, what does he think she is? And Hydarnes looked baffled.

"You can't see it?" He asked, and Farah folded her arms in irritation.

"Well, I'm sorry that I don't have superior eyes such as yours." She said dryly making Hydarnes roll his eyes.

"Alright I'll tell you, its gold and has a big fish engraved in it." He explained looking at her expression wondering if she will recognize it. Immediately, Farah knew what it was, the symbol of the Matsya Kingdom. Of course it all made sense, that's the same kingdom Arjun was from and so is her sister. Although, she knew of it she still put on a blunt expression and is determined not to tell Hydarnes the complete truth.

"It's the symbol of the Matsya." She explained.

"So you do know them?" He asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Not really, I just know of them. They are not the same as my kingdom." She informed him and he sighed again.

"So you wouldn't know why she is following us." He said in annoyance, and Farah's eyes widened.

"She is?" She asked trying hard to suppress the excitement she felt. Knowing her sister is trying to rescue her again.

"Yes, for the past two days she's been tracking us in the desert." He said as he contently watched the woman walk away from the sailor he had talked to earlier. Knowing very well that she has just found that they were spending the night here. A grin crossed his features while he stared at the mysterious woman and Farah looked at him in confusion.

"What are you going to do?" She asked fearing what he will do.

"She has made a dire mistake to come into my own backyard." He whispered with confidence that sent shivers down Farah's spine


End file.
